A section of the crowd at the rally outside the prison.
SIBU: About 100 people gathered outside the prison at Awang Ramli Amit Road yesterday morning to support six men, who were jailed and fined for encroaching into a private property in Sungai Bawan in Balingian recently.
The six, including three longhouse chieftains, were charged under Section 477 of the Penal Code in the Mukah Magistrate’s Court last week and jailed for a month and fined RM2,500 each.
The three chieftains are TR Juti, TR Umput and TR Muluk.
TR Matek, the leader of the rally yesterday, said they gathered for about 15 minutes before dispersing on the advice of the police.
He said they just briefly gathered because they did not apply for the police permit, but pointed out that everyone at the rally had cooperated fully with the police.
“During the rally, family members managed to visit the six convicts in the prison.
“Those who came to support the rally included the family members of the convicts, friends, longhouse residents and NGO (non-governmental organisation) members,” he said.
A team of policemen kept watch over the rally to ensure the situation did not get out of hand.
Matek speaks to reporters.