The Kuala Lumpur High Court today dismissed an application by controversial bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee to strike out one of three charges against them which ridiculed Muslims and Ramadan.
It ruled that the charge faced by the couple, who uploaded pictures on Facebook with the comment, Selamat Berbuka Puasa with bak kut teh...fragrant, delicious and appetising was valid.
Judge Kamardin Hashim ruled that the charges faced by the couple under Section 298A (1) (a) of the Penal Code was a 'good' law and did not clash with the Federal Constitution and should not be revoked under Article 4 (1) of the Constitution.
In dismissing the application of the couple to cancel one of the three charges they faced, he said the application had no merit.
Kamardin said Section 298A (1) (a) of the Penal Code was applicable to all races and universally valid and enforceable, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion of a person and that section applied to both the applicants in this case.
On Aug 21, Alvin whose full name is Tan Jye Yee, 25, and Vivian or Lee May Ling, 24, filed an application to quash the charge they faced under Section 298A(1)(a) of the Penal Code.
They sought an order to declare that Section 298A of the Act was inconsistent and contradictory to the Federal Constitution and could not be enforced against them, and that even if the charge was lawful, it only applied to Muslims.
The charge pertained to uploading a picture of them eating 'bak kut teh', and accompanied by a caption, 'Selamat Berbuka Puasa with bak kut teh' (fragrant, delicious and appetising) which was likely to stir interfaith conflict at a restaurant in Dang Wangi on July 11 and 12.
The controversial pair are also jointly charged under the Incitement Act 1948 with publishing inciting content, namely the same picture and caption on their Facebook link https://www.facebook.com/alvivi.swingers at 568-14-18, Kompleks Mutiara Jalan Ipoh, Batu 3 1/2 here.
The third charge under the Film Censorship Act 2002 involves the posting of pornographic pictures on http://alviviswingers.tumblr.com/, between July 6 and 7 at the same place.
Meanwhile, when approached by reporters outside the court, Tan accompanied by Lee, once again apologised for their action.
"Vivian and I would like to apologise one more time. We regret our action and we did not intend to harm anybody. We will definitely never (not) ever do it again, he said.
The duo's counsel, Chong Joo Tian said an application would be filed with the Attorney-General's Chambers to have the charges against the couple dropped.
Prior to this, the Sessions Court here set Dec 5 and 6 for hearing of the case.
The prosecution is conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin and Haffiza Jemali.
Bernama
Thu Nov 21 2013
Vivian Lee and Alvin Tan - Filepic BERNAMA
'Saya akan beri keputusan dalam masa singkat' - Anwar
Ketua-ketua cabang di Sabah telah memberikan pandangan dan keputusan akan dipertimbang dalam masa terdekat.
Wanita usung mayat bapa saudara ke bank demi tanda tangan dokumen pinjaman wang
Erika memberitahu pekerja bank bahawa bapa saudaranya mahu melakukan pinjaman sebanyak 17,000 reais (RM15,523).
Sambutan Aidilfitri MADANI 2024 peringkat kebangsaan dirai di Sabah hari ini
Majlis itu membuka tirai dan menerima kunjungan orang ramai seawal pukul 10.30 pagi hingga 3 petang.
Air Sungai Pasir keruh, LRA Wangsa Maju dihenti tugas sementara
Langkah kawalan itu bagaimanapun tidak menyebabkan gangguan penyaluran air mentah ke LRA Wangsa Maju.
AWANI Pagi: Perang Israel-Iran: Perang alaf baharu?
Diskusi 8.30 pagi Sabtu bersama Jumaat bersama Pakar Hubungan Antarabangsa, Prof Dr. Ahmad Marthada Mohamed mengenai kemungkinan lebih buruk boleh dijangkakan di rantau Asia Barat selepas Israel bertindak melancarkan peluru berpandu dan membedil bandar Isfahan di Iran semalam.
Buang dua ekor itik kerana bimbang nasib malang
Siok Hui meletakkan kedua-dua itik itu dalam sebuah kotak sebelum ditinggalkan di Hutan Simpan Bukit Timah ketika kejadian pada 2020.
Piala FA Inggeris: Status Erling Haaland masih tanda tanya
Pep Guardiola mendedahkan bahawa pemain berusia 23 tahun itu meminta untuk dikeluarkan tanpa memberi alasan yang kukuh.
Anwar hadir selesai kemelut MPN Sabah
Beliau mempengerusikan perjumpaan tersebut yang dipercayai bagi menyelesaikan kemelut politik PKR di negeri ini.
Piala Asia B-23: Vietnam intai peluang benam Malaysia, layak ke suku akhir
Vietnam mencari peluang untuk memastikan slot ke suku akhir Piala Asia B23 apabila berdepan Malaysia malam ini.
AWANI Pagi: Berita tumpuan & menarik di astroawani.com [20 April 2024]
AWANI Pagi bersama Geegee Ahmad & Azib Zikry membincangkan keperluan pengenalan Skim Kemalangan Bukan Bencana Kerja (SKBBK) di mana Presiden Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC), Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani akan menekankan bahawa langkah proaktif itu adalah untuk melindungi hak-hak pekerja khususnya apabila melibatkan kemalangan jalan raya di luar waktu bekerja.
Alvin Tan disiasat di bawah Akta Hasutan kerana cemuh pemimpin negara
Ini merupakan kali kedua Alvin disiasat di bawah akta yang sama selepas beliau dan pasangannya Vivian Lee persenda umat Islam dan bulan Ramadan tahun lepas.
Pasangan kontroversi gagal batal pertuduhan
Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur menolak permohonan pasangan Alvin Tan dan Vivian Lee untuk membatalkan satu daripada tiga pertuduhan.
Orang ramai disaran bantu pantau blog Alvin, Vivian
Timbalan Menteri Komunikasi dan Multimedia Datuk Jailani Johari berkata masyarakat juga boleh memantau perkara itu dan jika berulang boleh membuat aduan.
SKMM akan kaji semula akta yang sedia ada- Jailani
SKMM akan mengkaji beberapa peruntukkan di bawah akta berkenaan bertujuan menambahbaik serta mengatasi kelemahan sedia ada.