KUALA LUMPUR – A senior citizen was charged again for displaying the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s photo on a four-wheel drive vehicle during the recent Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.
P. Ramasamy, 66, pleaded not guilty at the Kuala Kubu Baharu magistrates’ court today.
He will now face a retrial, after his earlier charge was set aside by the Shah Alam High Court, which found that he had not understood the nature and consequence of the offence.
His fresh charge is under the same law as before, namely Section 4A(1) of the Election Offences Act 1954 for inciting feelings of ill-will or hostility.
Ramasamy’s initial charge and guilty plea was on May 6 before Kuala Kubu Baharu magistrate Siti Fatimah Talib, who sentenced him to one month in jail and fined him RM3,000. He would have had to serve 10 months in jail if he failed to pay the fine.
His conviction and sentence was set aside on May 23 by Shah Alam High Court judicial commissioner Wendy Ooi Su Ghee, who ordered a retrial after finding his initial guilty plea to be unclear.
Ramasamy allegedly committed the offence on May 4. Viral photos of the 4WD he drove also showed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s photo on the vehicle that was mounted with Pakatan Harapan flags.
Ramasamy is out on the RM4,000 bail set by the court today, which was posted by his son, lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan confirmed to Scoop. – May 30, 2024