KUALA LUMPUR: A 26-year-old woman who took off her baju kurung during her open mic routine on stage near Taman Tun Dr Ismail was charged with insulting Islam today.
The accused, Nuramira Abdullah, however, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to her before Sessions Court judge Siti Aminah Ghazali.
According to the charge sheet, Nuramira was accused of insulting Islam by admitting she is Muslim and memorised 15 juzuk (chapters) of the Al-Quran before she took off her baju kurung at the Crackhouse Comedy Club at Taman Tun Dr Ismail on June 4.
Nuramira was charged under Section 298A of the Penal Code for causing disharmony, disunity, or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion.
She is facing maximum five years imprisonment, upon conviction.
Several pressmen from various agencies flocked the complex as early as 8am in anticipation of Nuramira, who arrived at 9am.
Clad in a dark suit and yellow shirt, Nuramira was ushered into the courtroom by several policewomen and was calm during the entire proceedings.
Deputy public prosecutor Najah Farhana asked no bail be offered to the accused as the offence is a non-bailable one.
"If the court want to give bail, we suggest the amount of RM50,000 as this case involved public interest," she said.
However, counsel R. Sivaraj who represented the accused requested a lower bail, stating that the bail was only meant to guarantee their clients' attendance to court.
"My client who work as an executive officer in private sector earned about RM3,000 monthly.
"She also gave her full cooperation during investigations and is not a flight risk," he said.
He said Nuramira's neighbour was willing to become her bailor.
The court set RM20,000 bail with one surety and the accused needs to surrender her passport until the disposal of the case.
The court fixed Aug 18 for mention.
In the incident, the woman, who was wearing a tudung, allegedly made degrading religious remarks and took off her baju kurung during her open mic routine on stage.
She was wearing a spaghetti-strap dress underneath the attire.
The case has sparked reactions from the authorities and the public.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall has temporarily suspended the comedy club's operations.
The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department is probing the viral video of the woman.
Under the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997, those found guilty of insulting or causing contempt against Islam can be fined up to RM3,000 or jailed up to two years.