The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) head of prosecution Mohd Sophian Zakaria requested for bail to be set at RM10,000, and for Premesh, who is currently in London, to give up his passport.
The court however ruled that Premesh was only required to give a personal bond.
The charge against Premesh today comes about six months after he and the portal’s editor-in-chief, Steven Gan, were charged last November for the video aired on KiniTV.
The duo face charges under Section 244(1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA), which relates to their using their positions as directors of KiniTV to upload the videos online.
They face a fine up to RM50,000, or one year jail, or both if convicted.
The video in question was a press conference held by former Batu Kawan Umno division vice-chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan in July last year, titled “Khairuddin: Apandi Ali is not fit to be AG and he should quit immediately”, which was uploaded in English and Bahasa Malaysia on July 27, 2016.
Malaysiakini today reported that the portal’s lawyers will file a constitutional challenge against the charges in two weeks.