Judge Mohammed Mokhzani Mokhtar imposed the sentence on Mohamed Durrany, 36, who is also a former secretary to the division’s chief Jamal Md Yunos.

The judge ruled the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts at the end of the defence case.

Durrany paid the fine.

According to the charge, Durrany, as the organiser of the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations of Malaysia ‘Gerakan Merah’ programme, failed to inform the Petaling Jaya district police chief 10 days before the rally was held.

The offence was committed at Jalan Tandang 51 / 205A, here, at 2pm on Nov 5, 2016.

He was charged under Section 9 (1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and punishable under Section 9 (5) of the same Act which carries a fine of not more than RM10,000 upon conviction.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor VV Suloshani pressed for a just punishment after taking into account public interest and security.

Counsel Izzat Zabir Sariff, who represented Durrany, urged the court to impose a lenient sentence, saying the accused currently was unemployed and has regretted his actions.

On Nov 5, 2016, the media reported that about 1,100 people in red shirts gathered in front of Malaysiakini’s office and demanded that the news portal be closed due to allegations that it received funding from the Open Society Foundation (OSF), which is linked to billionaire George Soros.