Rizal, 40, pleaded guilty before Judge N Priscilla Hemamalini to the first of the three charges made against him.

Hemamalini fined Rizal RM8,000, which he paid.

This was after deputy public prosecutor Nurul’Ain Abu Bakar informed the court that the Attorney-General’s Chambers had received the third representation filed by Rizal on June 7.

“The prosecution has agreed to accept the representation for Rizal to plead guilty to the first charge.

“However, the two other charges are to be ‘taken into consideration’ under Section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code,” Nurul’Ain said.

Rizal was charged with making an offensive Facebook post using the profile name “Rizal van Geyzel” on July 4, 2022, which was read at the cyber-crime and multimedia investigation division office, commercial crime investigation department, Menara KPJ, here at 1.17pm on July 13.

The charge was framed under Section 233(1) (a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and punishable under Section 233 (3) of the same act.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Noor Haslinda Che Seman requested the court to impose a heavy fine considering the offence had caused public anger.

“The guilty plea does not automatically qualify him for a lesser sentence because it should serve as a lesson to him and the general public,” she said.

Lawyer M Pravin, representing Rizal, in mitigation, said his client has three children, including a child with disabilities, to support.

“Rizal has a 74-year-old father suffering from chronic heart disease and has to bear the cost of the treatment.

“Following this incident, Rizal has lost his main source of income as a stand-up comedian.

“He is now divorced from his wife and takes care of three children, aged between three and 11. He regrets his action and promises to not repeat it,” the lawyer said.