Malaysiakini Reporter Charged Faces Up To 20 Years In Prison If Convicted

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Malaysiakini journalist B Nantha Kumar was charged under the MACC Act at the Shah Alam Sessions Court this morning.
The 42-year-old senior journalist claimed trial to the charge under Section 16(a)(A) of the Act, which carries a maximum prison term of up to 20 years and a fine not less than five times the amount of bribe accepted.
Nantha, who has exposed numerous migrant worker syndicates in the past, has denied the allegation of accepting a RM20,000 bribe from a Pakistani agent.
According to the charge read out in court, he was alleged to have received the bribe from a Pakistani national at the Concorde Hotel in Shah Alam at 11.45pm on Feb 28.
The charge accused him of receiving the money as inducement to take down and not upload articles on the Malaysiakini news portal over migrant syndicates.
A member of the prosecution team urged the court to impose bail at RM20,000 and to order Nantha to surrender his passport as the case involved alleged white collar crime and thus the accused was a flight risk.
Deputy public prosecutor Alis Izzati Azurin Mohd Rusdi contended that the high bail is required not only to ensure he attends court proceedings but also so that the accused would not disturb the prosecution witnesses.
She also urged the court to impose an additional condition to prevent the accused from uploading future articles that could prejudice his case.
However, defence counsel P Purshotaman pleaded for lower bail at RM5,000, saying it was public knowledge that Nantha was an award-winning journalist who wrote news articles about migrant syndicates.
“He risked his life to expose (the migrant syndicates), this was a national service,” the lawyer said, adding that the court is the protector of people’s rights and Nantha is confident of clearing his name in court.
Judge Nasir Nordin granted RM10,000 bail in one surety and ordered Nantha’s passport to be surrendered to the court.
Nasir also ordered him to report to the nearest MACC office once a month and set April 23 for mention of the case.
Nantha was then escorted out of the courtroom by police officers while his wife and legal team settled the posting of the bail.
Show of support
Malaysiakini managing editor Ng Ling Fong and others from the news portal were seen in the public gallery to lend support to Nantha.
The news portal provided the amount for his bail as a show of support to the journalist.
When met by the media after court proceedings, Ng reiterated the portal’s support of Nantha.
“We stand by our journalist, and we believe he is innocent until proven guilty,” he said.
Bail was posted around midday today, and Nantha walked out of the court complex.
Malaysiakini is conducting an internal inquiry over the matter and will make the findings public. Pending the findings by an independent panel, the portal has suspended Nantha with full benefits.
The MACC previously detained Nantha on the night of Feb 28, and the Magistrates Court the following morning (March 1) granted the anti-graft agency’s bid for a four-day remand.
The journalist was released on March 4. - Mkini

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