KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) secretary-general Amir Hariri Abd Hadi was today charged in the Magistrate's Court here in connection with a protest gathering on the littoral combat ship (LCS) issue here.

Amir Hariri, 31, pleaded not guilty to the charge before Magistrate Fardiana Haryanti Ahmad Razali.

According to the charge sheet, Amir Hariri, as the organiser of the gathering, had failed to inform the police offcer in charge of Dang Wangi district five days before holding the assembly in front of the Sogo Complex in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman at 2 pm on Aug 14 this year.

The charge was framed under Section 9 (1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, with the offence punishable with a maximum fine of RM10,000 under Section 9 (5) of the same act, upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Mohd Radzi Shah Ab Razak offered bail at RM10,000 while DPP Fatin Hanum Abdul Hadi proposed that the accused surrender his passport to the court and refrain from making any comment on the case in social media.

Lawyer Beatrice Chin Yuen Xin, representing the accused, asked for bail to be set at RM500 to RM1,000 as her client was not working, did not have any previous conviction and had fully cooperated with police in their investigation.

Another lawyer for the accused, Raj Surian Pillai, objected to the proposal for Amir Hariri to surrender his passport, saying he was not a flight risk.

The court granted him bail of RM4,000 in one surety and fixed Nov 3 this year for mention.

Also present in court was MUDA president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

According to media reports, about 60 individuals comprising members of non-governmental organisations, university students, politicians and others had staged an assembly on Aug 14 regarding the issue of 'Where is the littoral combat ship?'.

-- BERNAMA