Offensive post against Najib: Zaid acquitted
Published on: Friday, January 12, 2018
Kuala Lumpur: The Sessions Court here on Thursday acquitted former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim of a charge of posting an offensive statement calling for Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to step down as Prime Minister, in his blog, three years ago.Judge Zaman Mohd Noor acquitted Zaid, 67, without calling for his defence after ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him.Zaman said there were flaws in the prosecution's case, aside from inconsistencies in the prosecution witnesses' testimonies.
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He said the victim was also not called to testify for the court to know whether he had been affected by Zaid's statement.Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Laden later told the media that the prosecution would file an appeal to the High Court against Zaman's decision.On Dec 4, 2015, Zaid, who is also a Democratic Action Party (DAP) member, was charged with posting the statement in his website, http://www.zaid.my under the heading, "Rally Behind Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad."He was accused of committing the offence at the Classified Crimes Investigation Unit in Bukit Aman, here, at 3.20pm on Sept 3, 2015.
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The lawyer-turned-politician was represented by counsel M. Puravalen.He was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and punishable under Section 233(3) of the same Act, which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment of up to one year on conviction.
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On Sept 2, 2015, Zaid gave a speech at Royal Selangor Club and uploaded the text in his blog the following day.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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