Activist fined for screening film

Hendry guilty of showing documentary without permission

KUALA LUMPUR: A human rights activist was fined RM10,000 by a magistrate's court here for screening a Sri Lankan civil war documentary which had not been approved by the Censorship Board.

In his judgment last month, Magistrate Mohd Rehan Mohd Aris found Lena Hendry (pic) guilty after ruling that the defence had failed to raise a reasonable doubt in the case.

He sentenced her yesterday and Hendry paid the fine.

A total of eight prosecution witnesses and three defence witnesses, including Hendry, had given sworn evidence in the trial.

Hendry, 32, who was also the programme coordinator for a human rights group Pusat Komas, claimed trial in a magistrate’s court on Sept 19, 2013, to illegally screening the documentary No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka.

The film directed by British national Callum Macrae explores the alleged oppression by the Sri Lankan government of Tamils in the island nation.

Hendry was said to have committed the offence at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall at Jalan Maharajalela here at 9pm on July 3, 2013.

The charge under Section 6(1)(b) of the Film Censorship Act 2002 carries a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to RM30,000 or both, upon conviction.

Nurakmal Farhan Aziz was the deputy public prosecutor while counsel New Sin Yew acted for Hendry.

Mohd Rehan had on March 10 last year acquitted Hendry after ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against her.

But following an appeal, the High Court had on Sept 21, last year, set aside the acquittal order against Hendry and ordered her to enter her defence over the charge.