BANDAR Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen and Stampin MP Julian Tan were today discharged and acquitted of a street protest charge by the Kuching Sessions Court.

Judge Steve Ritikos found that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the two DAP lawmakers to provide answers over their participation in the Bersih 4 rally in Kuching on August 29, 2015.

Chong, a three-term MP and Sarawak DAP chairman, and Tan, a first-term MP, were charged with breaching Section 4(2)(c) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2014 by taking part in a “street protest” during their walk from a mall in front of the Kuching Hilton to the rally grounds at the Song Kheng Hai rugby field 2km away.

Lead counsel Gobind Sing Deo lauded the “landmark decision” as it defined the meaning of “street protest”.

“The judge did not see the movement from the meeting point in front of the Kuching Hilton to the Song Kheng Hai grounds as a street protest.”

The judge accepted the defence’s argument that the duo were at the meeting point to park their cars and meet fellow participants before walking to the rally grounds.

Chong, who is also state assemblyman for Kota Sentosa, said the charge was politically motivated.

He had, from the start, maintained that the charge was “political prosecution”, calling it “a farce”.

Chong said this was so because had he been found guilty, a fine of more than RM2,000 would see him losing his seat in Parliament and the Kota Sentosa seat in the Sarawak state assembly.

The charge carries a maximum fine of RM10,000.

The duo would also be barred from contesting in any election for up to two years, making them unable to defend their seats in the next general election.

The lawmakers were formally charged on December 14, 2015.

On February 1 this year, Chong and Tan proposed a plea bargain to end the case, in which they would plead guilty on the condition that their fine was less than RM2,000 and the prosecutor would not appeal the sentence. 

It was rejected by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The plea bargain came after the Federal Court, in October last year, declined to hear their request for a constitutional interpretation of Section 4(2)(c) of the Peaceful Assembly Act.

The MPs, in July last year, had, through the Kuching High Court, applied to challenge the validity of Sections 4(1)(c) and 4(2)(c) of the act at the Federal Court.

Judge Steven Chung allowed the application after there was no objection.

The duo had argued that the sections were against Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees Malaysians the right to freedom of speech, assembly and association, and were, therefore, illegal and should be made null and void.

The Federal Court’s five-man bench, led by Chief Justice Ariffin Zakaria, ruled they could not decide on the constitutionality of the two sections as there were no facts of proceedings from the trial. – September 14, 2017.