Sessions court judge Ahmad Fuad Othman said the charges were legally defective following the recent Court of Appeal decision declaring the words “offensive” and “annoy” in the Communications and Multimedia Act unconstitutional, reported Berita Harian.

Aliff claimed trial on Oct 13, 2022 to four counts of uploading offensive content on his Instagram account in April of that year. He was accused of producing and uploading the video with the intention of offending others on April 13, 15, 17 and 21.

The clip had depicted a group of male dancers in make-up behaving in an effeminate manner.

The charges were framed under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, punishable under Section 233(3) of the same Act with a maximum fine of RM50,000 or up to a year’s imprisonment, and a further fine of RM1,000 for each day the offence continues after conviction.