Rafizi to send rep to AGC over charge
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, who is charged with publishing a libellous statement against Lembaga Tabung Haji two years ago, will send a representation to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) for a review of the charge.
His lawyer Md Yunos Shariff informed magistrate Umzarul An-Nur Umar about this when the case came up for mention yesterday.
Earlier, Md Yunos informed the court that he had been appointed to represent Rafizi last Dec 18 to replace the previous lawyer, Gobind Singh Deo.
Md Yunos said he had been instructed by Rafizi to submit the representation to the AGC on Jan 4.
The court then set Jan 28 for mention to know the status of the representation, and if rejected, the defence hearing would be on Feb 27 and 28.
Last Sept 25, Umzarul An-Nur ordered Rafizi to enter his defence on the charge after finding that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against him.
On April 8, 2016, Rafizi pleaded not guilty in a magistrate’s court here on a charge of defaming the pilgrims’ fund board in his blog www.rafiziramli.com.
He was charged with committing the offence here at the 18th floor of Tabung Haji Building, 201 Jalan Tun Razak, Dang Wangi, at 9am on Feb 18, 2016.
The charge, under Section 500 of the Penal Code, provides an imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Besides Md Yunos, another lawyer, Adi Zulkarnain Zulkafli, is also representing Rafizi in the case, while the prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Jaizah Jaafar Sidek.