This was revealed to reporters by his lawyer Eric Paulsen this morning, after Justice Mohd Sofian Abd Razak made the decision to cancel the warrant having been given an explanation by Tian Chua on his absence for a case mention yesterday.
“There was a letter that said presence was compulsory but the legal team did not inform Tian Chua and our lawyer came late on Tuesday.
“It was a miscommunication,” Paulsen was quoted as saying by The Star, adding that the Batu MP was present before the court today.
Yesterday, the same judge had issued the warrant of arrest as Chua was not present in court for the case management of his appeal on his conviction and sentence after he was found guilty of making a seditious statement four years ago.
Chua brushed of the matter however, when contacted by FMT last night, saying that he was not present in court as the case had been fixed for case management, and “normally, we do not have to be present”.
“It is no big deal. I just have to present myself in court tomorrow morning, since I did not attend today,” he told FMT.
In September last year, Chua was found guilty of sedition over remarks made at a 2013 forum held at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.
He was sentenced to three months’ jail and fined RM1,800. Chua is appealing against the conviction and sentence, while the prosecution is appealing for a harsher sentence.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/05/29/tian-chua-and-three-others-face-sedition-charge/