Sessions Court judge Ibrahim Osman said the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against Ng.

“The prosecution has failed to present the original seditious document the accused is charged with writing,” he said.

Ibrahim also said the prosecution did not prove the article contained seditious words, as there were two Chinese translations of the comment piece.

Ng was charged with sedition over remarks made in an article titled “Reformasi bermula lagi (Reformation re-emerges) in the Kwong Wah Yit Poh daily last year.

This was after a police report was lodged by Penang MCA Deputy Youth Chief Ang Chor Keong on Feb 16, 2015.

Ang reported that Ng’s opinion piece titled “Let the Trumpet of Reformasi Resound”, published on Feb 10, 2015, was seditious.

Ng and a newspaper editor from the vernacular daily were called in for investigation by police. Later, Ng was charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948.

Outside the courthouse, Ng was teary-eyed as he answered queries from reporters.

He said his acquittal was a “victory for columnists”.

“Columnists should not be charged for sedition for voicing out their opinions about current issues,” he said.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who was also present, said the government must abolish the Sedition Act, which was often used against Opposition lawmakers.