11 accused released on revised of RM500 bail each
SIBU: Ten men and a woman charged with wrongfully restraining a person were allowed to be released on a revised bail after a judicial review at the High Court yesterday.
The accused, namely, Donal Heagen Jimmy, Edwin Lian Baong, Tan Kayong, Tangai Jirang, Liew Joon Chen, James Rundi, Mancha Abok, Lawrence Ngadi, Andin Ah Kow, Darren Hillary and Lulong Bujah, were allowed to be released with a revised bail of RM500 with two local sureties each.
The accused, aged between 25 and 61 years, are charged under Section 341 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same code, which provide for a jail term of up to one month or the maximum RM1,000 fine or both upon conviction.
Judicial commissioner Lim Hock Leng also ordered the accused to report to the Mukah Police Station every sixth day of the month, starting in November.
Simon Siah represented the accused while DPP Mohamad Zulfadhli Tuah prosecuted.
All the accused were produced at the Second Class Magistrates’ Court in Mukah on Oct 30, and were ordered released on RM4,000 bail with two local sureties each. Each local surety must have a monthly income of RM1,500.
Siah meanwhile said the bail condition was excessive as the penalty for the offence upon conviction was only RM1,000.
He also argued that it was impossible to get a local surety earning RM1,500 monthly.
Hence, he filed for a judicial review of the condition for release.
“We submit that the bail amount and the condition are excessive because the accused are only charged under Section 341 of the Penal Code, and the sentence is only imprisonment for a month or a fine of RM1,000 or both.
“By imposing such heavy bail of RM4,000 against farmers and village folk such as the accused, it defeats the whole purpose of granting a bail,” he told the court yesterday.
Zulfadhli, on the other hand, requested that the bail sum be reduced to RM1,000 with the same number of local sureties for each accused. He also requested for the additional condition that the accused are to report to the police station nearest to them once a month.
In granting the revised bail conditions, Lim said the presumption of innocence and the principle that the purpose of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused will be greatly diluted if the bail conditions are onerous.
The accused allegedly committed the offence near a stone quarry in Balingian at 9.40am on Oct 8. They were arrested on Oct 26.
They allegedly put up a blockade to restrain one of the quarry workers from entering the quarry. They will appear at the Mukah Magistrates’ Court for further mention on Nov 6.