Story updated at 3.30pm
Chong (centre) and Tan (right) with their lawyers and supporters including Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong and Chong’s father, lawyer Siew Chiang during a photo call at the courthouse in Petra Jaya Kuching today.
KUCHING: Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen and former Stampin MP Julian Tan Kok Ping have been discharged and acquitted again by the Sessions Court here of a charge of participating in a street protest in 2015.
Judge Steve Ritikos made the decision following an instruction from the Attorney General’s Chambers to have the charge withdrawn during the mention of the case this morning.
The case today was meant for a defence call after a High Court in 2017 allowed the prosecution team’s appeal against the Sessions Court’s decision to discharge and acquit on Chong and Tan of the charge back then. The same High Court (in 2017) also ordered the case to be remitted to the same Sessions Court for the defence call.
The prosecution was led by director of prosecution Sarawak Isa Hassim and DPP Hayda Faridzal while the defence team was made up of counsels Roger Chin, Chong Siew Chiang and Michael Kong.
During the court proceeding today, Chin told the court that the charge could not be left hanging in the accused’s head indefinitely and it was only fair to discharge and acquit them.
He also said that there must also be a finality of the matter as Chong is a deputy minister in the federal cabinet.
Chong is now Federal Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs and also Stampin MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman.
Both Chong and Tan were charged with illegally participating in the Bersih 4.0 street protest from Hilton Hotel to the Song Kheng Hai rugby field during the Bersih rally here on Aug 29, 2015.
Meanwhile, Bernama reported Chong as saying that he had met personally with Attorney-General Tommy Thomas on the matter two weeks ago and was surprised that the latter had no knowledge of his case.
“This is unacceptable as the letter did not reach the AG,” said Chong, alleging that there were some ‘Little Napoleons’ in the AG’s Chambers trying to sabotage the PH (Pakatan Harapan) government.
“I take this matter seriously. This only goes to show that despite a change of government, there are some in the civil service still practising what the previous government was doing,” said Chong, who is also Sarawak DAP chairman and Stampin MP.
Hence, he urged the AG’s Chambers to be accountable for the previous decision to reject his application to drop the case against him as the PH government allowed peaceful assemblies to be held.