"Prison not bad," says controversial blogger Alvin Tan

Controversial blogger Alvin Tan who was released on bail today together with his girlfriend Vivian Lee, described his eight-day prison stay as "not bad."

Tan, who with Lee were charged with publishing a seditious photograph caption on Facebook and denied bail before this, made the remark when met by reporters after the bail process.

Lee, however, kept her head down and declined to give any comment.

At 10am, Tan, 25, and Lee, 24, still in handcuffs, were accompanied by policemen to the Sessions/Magistrate's Court (Crime) counter for the processing of their bail documents with a court staff reading to them the conditions for bail.

Both were seen signing the documents before leaving the counter 20 minutes later and they then hurriedly got into two waiting cars in the Jalan Duta Court Complex grounds, here.

Yesterday, Tan's mother and the couple's female friend stood bail for them in the sum of RM30,000 for each.

The couple's counsel, Chong Joo Tian when met after the two left, said: "They are quite happy to be out of prison. They need time to rest. We will take it from there."

On July 18, Tan and Lee were taken to the Sungai Buloh Prison and Kajang Prison respectively after Sessions Court judge Murtazadi Amran disallowed them bail.

However, yesterday, High Court judge Datuk Mohd Azman Husin allowed them bail in one surety of RM30,000 each with four conditions.

The conditions are, the couple must surrender their passports to the court, report themselves at the nearest police station in the first week of each month, be prohibited from uploading obscene photographs, provocative comments or articles that touch on religious and racial sensitivities, and be prohibited from using network communication devices to upload such comments or photographs.

Tan or Tan Jye Yee, 25, by his full name, and Vivian Lee May Ling, 24, were jointly charged with publishing a seditious photograph on their Facebook page, 'Alvin and Vivian - Alvivi' at https://www.facebook.com/alvivi.swingers, with the caption, "Selamat Berbuka Puasa (dengan Bak Kut Teh...wangi, enak, menyelerakan !!!" (Happy Breaking Fast with Bak Kut Teh...fragrant, delicious and appetising!!!) and a halal logo.

The couple was also charged with posting obscene photographs on http://alviviswingers.tumblr.com/ between 9pm on July 6 and 2am on July 7.

They also face a charge of uploading an obscene photograph together with the same seditious comment on their Facebook which could cause racial enmity.

The charges were made under the Sedition Act 1948, Film Censorship Act 2002 and the Penal Code.