The Star "88 charged , arrest warrants issued against two who failed to show up in court"

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 88 people who participated in the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) rally on Sunday were charged here and in Selayang.

The group, which included a woman and two elderly men, appeared in the courts yesterday after being released on police bail the day before when the remand order against them expired.

While 48 were prosecuted in magistrate’s courts here, 40 others were charged in the Sessions Court in Selayang.

Those charged came from all walks of life: students, taxi drivers, clerks, mechanics, lorry drivers, pensioners, the unemployed and civil servants from various states.

Also charged was Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) national integration chief N. Gobalakrishnan. The 48 people charged here are between 21 and 72. They were calm upon hearing their charges and were granted bail of between RM1,500 and RM3,000 each.

Each was accused of displaying a show of criminal force to instil fear on police who were discharging their duty at various main roads in the city on Sunday.

They faced an alternative charge of being in an unlawful assembly that day.

They also faced a second charge of continuing to be in an unlawful assembly knowing that there was an order to disperse.

They claimed trial to all the charges.

Yesterday, two arrest warrants were issued by a magistrate against two men who failed to turn up in court to answer their charges.

Magistrate Ahmad Solihin Abdul Wahid issued warrants against E. Jayaraman, 48, and M. Selvanathan, 45, on an application from the prosecution, saying that the police bail on the two expired yesterday.

R. Magiswary, 45, who was supposed to face similar charges, produced a medical chit through her lawyer for her absence from court. The court set Dec 10 to mention her case.

DPP Adilla Ahmad told the same court that K. Thirushul, 21, was given a special exemption as he was sitting for an examination. Two others did not turn up in court to answer their charges.

In one of the courts, lawyer Saha Arunasalam raised a preliminary objection, saying that the charges framed against his clients were defective but the magistrate dismissed it and set Jan 29 for mention.

In Gombak, 40 men were charged with being at an illegal assembly in front of the Sri Subramaniar temple along Jalan Besar Batu Caves on Nov 25 between 1am and 8am.

Each of them also faced a similar alternative charge as the 48 in Kuala Lumpur.

All of them claimed trial.

Lawyer M. Manoharan then asked for his clients to be given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, claiming that the charges were defective in that their names were placed in an attached document instead of the main document.

However, DPP Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud said that granting the 40 men a discharge at this stage would amount to the court not adhering to the law.

Judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz said she would decide on the application today.

Police beefed up security at the Kuala Lumpur and Selayang court complexes with over 100 personnel by 7.30am to avoid any untoward incident.

Those who wanted to get into the Jalan Duta court complex were earlier screened by police at its entrance.

The main gate was closed at 9.30am.