PETALING JAYA: The conviction and jail sentence of a technician who allegedly posted an offensive Facebook post about the Allah socks matter had been overturned by the High Court.
According to a report from Free Malaysia Today (FMT), High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Bache said that the court had found that the sessions court did not, as quoted from the report, “observe proper practice when recording the accused’s guilty plea” after examining the technician Chiok Wai Leong’s, 35, court proceeding from March 22 (Friday).
“There was no mention that he understood the charge and consequences of a plea of guilt. The judge only mentioned that the charge and sentence were read to him.
“The charge against him was so long, how do you (the prosecution and the court) expect a layman like him to understand? He was also not represented by lawyers that day,” he was quoted as saying.
ALSO READ: Umno Youth chief files police report over death threat
Ahmad ordered for Wai Leong to be charged at another sessions court.
On March 22, Wai Leong reportedly pled guilty at the Kuala Lumpur sessions court over the Facebook post and was sentenced to six months in prison and fined RM12,000 with an additional sentence for three months if he failed to pay the fine.
The technician was arrested in Cheras on March 20 (Wednesday) and remanded until March 24. The case was investigated under Section 289A of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998.
ALSO READ: Home Ministry: Do not take matters into your own hands regardless of issue
