KUALA LUMPUR: Three of the 14 people charged with participating in the 2007 Bersih rally have been acquitted by the High Court.
The three are PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, or better known as Mat Sabu, Batu MP Tian Chua and former Padang Serai MP N. Gobalakrishnan.
Justice Amelia Tee Hong Geok Abdullah upheld the Sessions Court’s 2012 acquittal of Mat Sabu and Tian Chua and overturned the decision to convict Gobalakrishnan.
The other 11 persons, who were earlier acquitted by the Sessions Court, were, however, fined RM8,000 each, in default two months’ jail.
Mat Sabu and Tian Chua had been charged under Section 143 of the Penal Code for illegal gathering and an alternative charge under Section 27(5)(a) of the Police Act 1967.
Deputy public prosecutors Ahmad Ishrakh Saad and Mohd Farizul Hassan Bakri asked for a deterrent sentence, saying it concerned public peace.
Justice Amelia read out the lengthy judgement for the 14 persons who were put into five groups based on the locations they were arrested in during the 2007 rally.
When lawyer Nasar Khan asked for time for the 11 to settle the fines, Justice Amelia sternly refused and said they would have to pay it the same day.
“When they come here they must be prepared for both eventualities.
“If they cannot pay, they go in (to jail),” she said.
Nasar also represented Mat Sabu while Jason Tay acted for Tian Chua and S. Vijayaretnam for Gobalakrishnan.
On Nov 19, 2012, the Sessions Court acquitted all of them after ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against them on charges of participating in an illegal assembly on Nov 10, 2007.
The prosecution filed an appeal against their acquittal on Nov 25, 2012, claiming that the Sessions Court judge had erred in law and fact.
There had initially been 17 people charged for their involvement in the rally, but one of them later passed away and another had his charge withdrawn by the prosecution.
Of the remaining 15, two were found guilty by the Sessions Court, one of whom was Gobalakrishnan, while the other did not appeal against his conviction.
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