Hishamuddin Rais fined RM5,000 for sedition

KUALA LUMPUR: Activist Hishamuddin Md Rais was today fined RM5,000 by the Sessions Court here after he was found guilty of giving a seditious speech on May 13, 2013.
Judge Azman Mustapha made the decision after finding that the defence had failed to raise any reasonable doubts in the prosecution's case against Hishamuddin, 63.
The court also ordered Hishamuddin be jailed six months if he failed to pay up the fine. The accused paid the fine.
In handing down the punishment, Azman said the court was imposing a fine and not imprisonment taking into account such factors as the advanced age of the accused.
"Moreover, there was no trouble and I am also satisfied with the arguments of the defence lawyer that there was no public interest to be taken into account by imprisoning the accused," he said.
Hishamuddin was charged with giving a seditious speech to incite the people of this country to change the legally elected government through unlawful means.
He committed the offence at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Jalan Maharaja Lela, Dang Wangi here between 8.55pm and 11.15pm on May 13, 2013.
Azman said the accused merely gave a fiery speech at the hall but had not been able to influence the people who heard it.
Earlier, lawyer Syahredzan Johan, who represented Hishamuddin, had appealed that an imprisonment sentence not be imposed on his client and instead asked the court to impose a bond of good behaviour in accordance with Section 294 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the form of fines or penalties.
"In this case, the words spoken by my client did not involve riots nor pose a threat to national security and there isn't any attempt to overthrow the government," he said, adding that a sentence of imprisonment would have a negative impact on his client in view of his age.
Deputy public prosecutor Kee Wei Loon seeking a sentence of imprisonment argued that public interest should be taken into account above personal interest and that the offence committed was a serious one based on the increasing number of such cases in recent years. – Bernama