Court acquits Tian Chua, Mat Sabu of illegal assembly charge

(The Rakyat Post) – The Sessions Court today acquitted PAS vice-president Mohamad Sabu, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Tian Chua, PKR supreme council member Dr Badrulamin Bahron and 39 others for participating in an illegal assembly to protest the price increase in prices of goods in 2008.

Sessions Court judge Mat Ghani Abdullah ruled the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against the accused, The Star reported.

They were charged with taking part in an illegal gathering near Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) in Jalan Ampang, between 1.30pm and 4.30pm, on Jan 26, 2008.

Mohamad Sabu, better known as Mat Sabu, Badrulamin, Dzulkefly Ahmad, Md Yusof Abdullah, T. Mohan and Khairul Nizad Edinan were charged with committing the offences in front of Wisma Central, Jalan Ampang, at 3.30pm.

Izamuddin Ludin, Solahuddin Yahya, Marzuki Abdullah and Fadhil Osman were alleged to have committed the offences in front of KLCC between 2.45pm and 4.30pm.

Y. Kohila and P. Thinamaran were accused of the offence in front of OSK Investment Bank building at 3.30pm, while G. Gomathi and Kamaruddim Md Tahir were charged with committing the offence at Avenue K, Jalan Ampang, between 2.45pm and 4.25pm.

According to the charge sheet, the accused had disregarded a court order forbidding people from taking part in a rally on Jan 26, 2008, organised by a group calling itself Protes.

The group wanted to draw the government’s attention to the spiralling prices of essential goods.