Two of them were separately charged with displaying symbols of an outlawed secret society group.
Those charged with taking part in the illegal procession under MCO rules included two minors aged 15 and 16.
Of the 13, four were charged with possession of symbols of the underworld — a spider tattoo and a banner with a swastika and two Chinese coins denoting symbols of an illegal society. The name of the illegal society was not mentioned in court.
Five of them pleaded guilty to the MCO violations and were fined RM6,000 or a two-month jail term by sessions judge Norhayati Mohamad Yunus.
Those who pleaded guilty were Munesvaran Singam, 24, Surendran Krishnan Samy, 35, Subramaniam Bathumalai, 23, Yeshwar Karuppiah, 22, and Logeswari Sugumaran, 23.
Six others – Surendran Peeter Villiam, 21, Jagan Muthu, 24, Thiruselvaan Maganthran, 21, Amos Navaneethan, 19, Vihnoth Navaneethan, 31, and Guganeswaran Muthu, 21 – pleaded not guilty. They were allowed RM3,000 bail with one surety.
Two others, minors aged 15 and 16, were charged but their plea was not recorded pending a probation report by the social welfare department as required by Section 90(13) of the Child Act 2001 for juveniles. They were allowed RM1,000 bail with one surety being a family member.
All 13 were charged with committing an offence by taking part in a funeral procession along Jalan Siram, here, on June 17 at about 2.50pm, against the orders of the health director-general not to take part in any prohibited social function.
The charges were laid under Rule 9 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2021, where a person commits an offence by taking part in prohibited activities as ordered by the health director-general. The offence carries a RM50,000 fine or a maximum six-month jail term.
Separately, at a magistrate’s court, four of the 13 pleaded not guilty to being in possession of symbols of an outlawed triad group.
Three men — Surendran, Guganeswaran and Jagan – were charged with possession of a banner with insignias of an outlawed triad group before magistrate Kalaiarasi Muniandy.
They pleaded not guilty and were granted RM3,000 bail with one surety.
Jagan was ordered to report to the nearest police station every month until the disposal of the case.
Thiruselvaan was charged with having a tattoo of a spider, which was deemed an illegal triad symbol. He pleaded not guilty and was offered RM3,000 bail and told to report to the nearest police station monthly.
The four were charged under Section 52(3) of the Societies Act 1966 for possession of seals, banners or insignia of any triad society in Malaysia or other countries. The offence carries a maximum prison term of five years or a maximum fine of RM15,000.
Both courts have set Aug 3 for mention.
Penang prosecution director Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim and deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Syafiq Nasrullah Saleem Ali prosecuted, while the accused were represented by a lawyer from the Legal Aid Centre.