An elderly man was charged before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court over an alleged Facebook post titled “A Historical Look at Attitudes to Homosexuality in the Islamic World.”
Ahmad Feisal Mohd Kamil today pleaded not guilty to a charge of making an offensive communication to hurt the feelings of other people, per Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
According to the charge, the 61-year-old was alleged to have committed the offence via the FB account “Feisal Kamil”, at around 12.17pm on Jan 10.
The charge contended that the posting was read by somebody at the Cybercrime and Multimedia Division at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur, around 1.45pm two days later.
Feisal faces a maximum fine not exceeding RM50,000, imprisonment up to one year, or both if found guilty.
During open-court proceedings before Judge N Priscilla Hemamalini, deputy public prosecutor Nurilya Ellyna Nor Azmal applied for bail to be set at RM20,000 with one surety.
The prosecutor also seeks for the court to impose bail conditions that bar Feisal from making further similar posts pending disposal of the case.
However, defence counsel Muhammad Sufyan Wafiq Mohd Zainal pleaded for the court to set a lower bail amount as his client Feisal had suffered a loss of RM10,000.
The counsel said Feisal, who is the sole breadwinner of his family, incurred this financial setback when arranging for his child’s education in France.
“The purpose of bail is to ensure his (Feisal) attendance in proceedings and not to penalise him. RM20,000 is excessive and punitive in nature,” Sufyan said.
Priscilla then granted bail at RM8,000 with one surety and set Dec 5 for further mention of the case. – Malaysiakini