PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli today filed a preliminary objection at the Kuala Lumpur magistrates’ court to halt his trial.

He is facing a charge of posting an article in Facebook that disparaged Tabung Haji.

Counsel Gobind Singh Deo told the court that his client questioned the validity of the trial which entered the second day today, on the basis of magistrate Umzarul An-Nur Umar’s failure to conduct an examination on the complaint.

The complainant, Lembaga Tabung Haji chief operations officer Rozaida Omar, was to have testified today.  

“What we want to question is the charge against Rafizi under Section 500 of the Penal Code, which can only commence if the magistrate takes cognizance of the offence and if there is a complaint by the complainant.

 “In this case, there is a complaint by the complainant but upon accepting the complaint, the magistrate must conduct an examination on it under Section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). This is where it had not been done,” he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Abazafree Mohd Abas objected to the application, saying the defence was trying to delay the trial.

He said the examination was unnecessary as the prosecution had ordered for the complaint to be investigated.

“Based on the amendment to Section 133 of the CPC in 1998 and based on Section 128 of the CPC, when the magistrate accepts a complaint, he/she can take note of it and after doing so, the trial can proceed without any examination of the complainant’s complaint,” he said.

The court set tomorrow for decision on the objection.

Rafizi claimed trial to posting an article titled “Analisa Kewangan Tabung Haji 2009-2015” on his Facebook account on February 9 last year, which allegedly contained disparagement that could tarnish the image of Lembaga Tabung Haji.

The charge under Section 500 of the Penal Code carries up to two years imprisonment or a fine or both, on conviction. – Bernama, February 6, 2018.