KUALA LUMPUR: Big Blue Taxi Services founder Datuk Shamsubahrin Ismail was charged at the Sessions Court here today with circulating offensive remarks with an intent to cause fear among the public via his Facebook account.
The 54-year-old businessman pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him before judge Mahyon Talib.
For the first charge, he allegedly had, via his Facebook account under the name Shamsubahrin Ismail, made an offensive remark in a post titled 'Utusan Khas buat PM8' with the intent of offending others at about 8.54pm on April 20.
The remarks were read at the Cyber Crimes and Multimedia Investigations Division Office of the Commercial Crime Investigations Department, Bukit Aman police headquarters here, at 11pm on the same day.
The offence falls under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 which provides for a maximum fine of RM50,000, or up to a years' jail, or both, if convicted; and a fine of RM1,000 for every day the offence is repeated after conviction.
For the second charge, Shamsubahrin was also charged with posting the same statement on his Facebook account with the intent of causing fear or alarm among the public, at Jalan Ampang at the same time and date.
Shamsubahrin's charges were framed under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum two years' imprisonment, or a fine, or both.
Deputy public prosecutor Syamimi Farhana Muhammad A. Aziz asked the court to impose RM26,000 bail in one surety for both offences.
"This is a serious offence as it could cause fear or alarm to the public," she said.
However, counsel Mohd Haijan Omar pleaded for minimum bail, stating his client is the sole breadwinner for his family.
"My client is a father of five and suffers from stage four cancer. He needs chemotherapy for his illness.
"He also needs to support his mother and mother-in-law," he said, adding that Shamsubahrin is an active e-hailing activist.
The court set RM14,000 bail in one surety for both charges and fixed June 10 for mention.