Four charged over participation in Himpunan Hijau assembly

Three men and a woman were charged today in the Sessions Court here under the Peaceful Assembly Act over their participation in an assembly here in September last year, and two of them were also charged for bringing along children to the assembly, organised by the Himpunan Hijau NGO. Raub Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Kin Hoong, 65, of Taman Sentosa here, and vice-chairman Tengku Shahadan Tengku Jaafar, 61, of Simpang Kalang here, were alleged to have violated conditions imposed for the assembly. They were alleged to have marched from the football field of the Raub District Council Sports Complex to the front of the Bangunan Gunasama Persekutuan Raub between 2 pm and 4.30 pm on Sept 2 last year. Wong and Tengku Shahadan are liable to a fine of up to RM10,000 upon conviction. Liew Chee Cheong, 43, of Puchong, Selangor, and Chan Lai Yong, 32, of Kampung Chamang, Bentong, were charged with bringing along children during their participation in the assembly at the football field of the Raub District Council Sports Complex between 2 pm and 4.30 pm on Sept 2 last year. Liew was alleged to have brought along with him two boys aged six and seven years while Chan was alleged to have brought along with her a five-year-old girl. On the offence of bringing along the children, Liew and Chan are liable to a fine of up to RM20,000 upon conviction. All four pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were read out to them before Judge Shahrizat Ismail. He (rpt) he allowed them bail of RM3,000 each in one surety and set Sept 19 for mention. The accused were represented by counsel Roger Chan, Mohd Harris Abdullah and Lai Chee Meng while the prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Hajar Mustafa. About 50 supporters of Himpunan Hijau had gathered early in the morning outside the court house, but about 30 policemen were present to keep watch.