My phone fell into the water, says man after charged with 11 counts of offensive posts about Nurul Izzah
SEPANG: A man claimed his phone had fallen into the water while fishing after he was charged with 11 counts of posting offensive comments about the prime minister's daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Ruslan Mat Ali, 48, pleaded not guilty before Sessions Court judge Ahmad Fuad Othman yesterday for the offences allegedly committed between January and February this year using the Facebook account "Ruslan Mat Ali".
He was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, for using network services to transmit offensive content.
The offence carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, a one-year jail term, or both upon conviction.
For the first 10 charges, Ruslan, a father of three, was accused of posting offensive comments that were read at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) Centre of Excellence in Cyberjaya on Feb 4 and Feb 26.
The posts were allegedly made between Jan 2 and Feb 25.
For the 11th charge, he allegedly posted an excessively offensive post on Feb 25.
Ruslan pleaded not guilty before Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman.
"I dropped my phone while I was fishing. I don't know where the comments came from. They just kept coming in," he told the court.
Deputy public prosecutor Fadhli Ab Wahab requested bail to be set at RM15,000 with one surety, saying that the cases should be jointly tried due to the involvement of the same witnesses and evidence.
Ruslan, who was unrepresented, appealed for a lower bail, saying he had no steady income, was divorced, and had three children to support.
The court granted bail at RM10,000 with one surety and fixed July 18 for mention.
All 11 charges will be tried together.
It was understood that Ruslan was unable to post bail and will remain in custody until the next court date.
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