Appeals court clears Mohamad Sabu, Tian Chua and five others of 2007 Bersih rally charge

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PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal, here, yesterday cleared former PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, Batu member of Parliament Tian Chua and five others on the charges over their alleged participation in the Bersih rally in 2007.

The five others are former Padang Serai member of Parliament N. Gobalakrishnan, Taib Abdullah, Mohamed Nazreen Mohd Nasir, Mohd Abi Salam Ariffin and Ishak Othman.

For Mohamad Sabu, Tian Chua and Gobalakrishnan, the three-man bench led by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif, unanimously dismissed the prosecution’s appeal and upheld the High Court’s decision to acquit them on the charges of allegedly being members of an illegal assembly and taking part in an unlawful assembly in Jalan Istana Baru, Kuala Lumpur on Nov 10, 2007.

As for the case involving the other four men, the same panel allowed their appeal to set aside the High Court’s decision which fined them RM8,000 each after convicting them on the charges of taking part in the illegal assembly and disobeying police order to disperse at various places in Kuala Lumpur on the same day.

Justice Raus ordered the RM8,000 fine which was paid by each of the four men to be refunded to them.

Meanwhile, the same panel which also comprised Justices Datuk Dr Hamid Sultan and Datuk Zamani A. Rahim dismissed the appeals of another five men against their conviction and RM8,000 fine on charges of taking part in an illegal assembly and disobeying police order to disperse during the Bersih rally.

They are Mohd Zad Abdullah, Razali Abdul, Mohd Salim Yeslam, Azahar Yusop and Sulaiman Ahmad.

Justice Raus also fixed Jan 15, next year for hearing of the appeal by two men – Ahmad Razali Abd Rahman and Mohd Shafie Ismail – who were not present in court yesterday for hearing of their appeals as they were on medical leave.

Ahmad Razali and Mohd Shafie are also appealing against their conviction on the charges of taking part in the assembly and disobeying police order to disperse and the RM8,000 fine which was imposed on them by the High Court.

Except for Gobalakrishnan who was found guilty and fined RM6,000, the Sessions Court had on Feb 27, 2013, acquitted and discharged the 13 men over the charges.

The High Court had on April 28, 2013, reversed the acquittal by the Sessions Court and convicted 11 of them.

The High Court, however, set aside Gobalakrishnan’s conviction and RM6,000 fine and also upheld the acquittal of Tian Chua and Mohamad Sabu. — Bernama