A marketing officer pleaded not guilty at the Magistrate’s Court over a charge of making insulting statements in connection with 15-year-old Nora Anne Quoirin’s death last week.
Muhammad Zikri Ibrahim, 29, recorded his plea when the charge was read to him in front of Magistrate Noorasyikin Sahat.
He is accused of using the Twitter application, via the account ‘Zikri Armstrong’, of committing intentional insult against the Orang Asli community with the intent of provoking a breach of the peace at 8.30pm on Aug 14.
Clad in blue jeans and blue tee-shirt, Muhammad Zikri was charged under Section 504 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine or both upon conviction.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Julia Ibrahim asked for an RM10,000 bail to be imposed, but the accused, represented by lawyer Muhammad Syazwan Mohd Salleh, pleaded for a lower amount on the grounds that his client was about to get married in December.
The court then set bail at RM6,000 with one surety and fixed Sept 19 for mention.
The media had reported before this of a Twitter posting that went viral, allegedly from the account of one ‘Zikri Armstrong’, about the death of Nora Anne who went missing for 10 days in the jungles surrounding an eco-resort in Pantai Hills, Negeri Sembilan, before being found dead.
On Aug 16, police detained a man allegedly responsible for the posting when he presented himself at the Seremban district police headquarters to record his statement.
Meanwhile, police have also detained an individual who allegedly made a death threat against DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) chief Howard Lee Chuan How.
Perak police chief Datuk Razarudin Husain said the 30-year-old individual was arrested following a police report lodged on the matter.
“Police received a report and arrested an individual believed to have been behind the threat,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.
The case is being investigated under Section 507 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
This morning, in a statement, Lee who is also Perak Youth and Sports committee chairman, said he received the threat through a screenshot of a WhatsApp group which was sent to him.
“On Sunday, I asked my officer to make a police report. I have submitted everything to the police to investigate the death threat,” he said in the statement.
According to the Pasir Pinji assemblyman, he was always open and welcomed differences (in opinion), but a death threat was something serious and required further action from the authorities.