Tian Chua and four others charged with sedition

They were charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948 for uttering seditious words at forum .

All four claimed trial to the offence which they allegedly committed at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Jalan Maharaja Lela here between 8.55pm and 11.15pm on May 13.

They were granted RM5,000 bail each by Judge Norsharidah Awang.

However, Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia, in a statement said Safwan refused to post bail.

Tian Chua was represented by N. Surendran while Haris was represented by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Gobind Singh Deo.

Tamrin and Safwan were represented by Ariff Azami Hussein.

The offence carries a jail term of three years and a fine of up to RM5,000 or both upon conviction under the same section.

The case will be mentioned on July 2.

On May 23, Tian Chua, Haris and Tamrin were arrested and held overnight at the Jinjang Utara police station for investigations under the Penal Code and Sedition Act.

The trio were released a day later after Magistrate Norashikin Sahat rejected the police's application of remand.

Meanwhile, political activist Hishammuddin Rais was also charged for making seditious remarks under the same Act.