HULU SELANGOR: A man has been sentenced to jail for a month and fined RM3,000 by the Kuala Kubu Baharu Magistrate’s Court for displaying the King of Malaysia’s photo during the Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB) by-election campaign.
Judge Siti Fatimah Talib handed down the sentence on P. Ramasamy, 66, after he pleaded guilty.
The court ordered the self-employed man to serve the prison sentence from the date of his arrest on May 4 and a 10-month jail term if he fails to pay the fine.
Ramasamy was accused of committing the act using a four-wheel drive around Taman Bukit Bunga near here at 5.40 pm on Saturday.
The charge was framed under Section 4(A)1 of the Election Offences Act 1954 for malicious intent that carries a jail term of not more than five years or a fine of not more than RM10,000 or both.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Asmah Che Wan prosecuted while the accused was unrepresented.
Ramasamy apologised to the court and pleaded for a lighter sentence, stating that he was unaware that his actions were wrong.
Asmah requested the court to impose an appropriate sentence as the offence involved disrespecting and insulting His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, a sensitive issue that could provoke anger among Malaysians.
Yesterday, Bernama reported that police arrested two men and seized a four-wheel drive for displaying images of the King during the KKB by-election campaign.
Both individuals were remanded for three days from May 5 until tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) campaign director for the KKB by-election, Ng Sze Han, reiterated that the party has never instructed or condoned such actions by any campaign personnel.
“The act of using the image of the King in the campaign is inappropriate and should not have occurred,“ he said in a statement here.
