JOHOR BARU: Kuantan Member of Parliament Fuziah Salleh today pleaded not guilty at the magistrate's court here to making a statement through Facebook that could cause public panic.
Fuziah, the former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, made the plea before Magistrate R Salini after the charge was read to her.
She was alleged to have made the statement, which could cause public panic, in the 'Fuziah Salleh' Facebook page at the link https://www.facebook.com/YBFuziahSalleh in Taman Imigresen, Jalan Tasek Utara at about 10pm on April 9.
She was charged under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for making statements which could cause public mischief, which carries a penalty of two years' jail or a fine or both.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Azizah Mohamad appeared for the prosecution while the accused was represented by Hassan Karim and John Fernandez.
Salini then set bail at RM3,000 with one surety and set June 16 for mention.
Earlier, before the proceedings, Hassan raised an objection and asked that the case be dropped, arguing that his client was not given an early notice on the charge under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code.
He also claimed that his client seemed to have been ambushed as she was not informed of the charge.
However, Nor Azizah argued that a summon was personally delivered to Fuziah in Kuantan yesterday (Tuesday) which mentioned that she has to answer to a charge under the section and that Fuziah even signed the summon.
Fuziah, wearing an orange baju kurung, arrived in court accompanied by her husband Russly Abdul Rahman and several supporters.
On April 10, it was reported that a video of an allegedly out of control situation at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex in Johor Baru was shared on Fuziah's Facebook page.
It was later confirmed by police that the posting was an old video of a fire drill at the Sultan lskandar Building (BSI) last year.