Tian Chua penalised for sedition, but remains an MP

The Sessions Court today penalised Tian Chua for sedition but the PKR vice-president escaped disqualification as the MP for Batu.

Judge Zulqarnain Hassan sentenced Tian Chua, 53, to three months jail and fined him RM1,800 over a speech of a seditious nature he had made in 2013.

An elected representative is only disqualified from being an MP or state assemblyman if he or she is sentenced to at least one year in jail or fined more than RM2,000.

The judge found Tian Chua, whose real name is Chua Tian Chang, guilty of having committed the offence at a talk at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Jalan Maharajalela here between 8.55pm and 11.15pm on May 13, 2013.

Tian Chua had pleaded not guilty on May 29, 2013, to delivering the speech with the alleged intention to incite the people to topple the government illegally.

Zulqarnain ordered Tian Chua to serve the jail sentence from today and to serve another six months jail if he failed to pay the fine.

Nevetheless, he allowed a stay of execution pending appeal to the High Court and retained the RM5,000 bail in one surety.

DPP Julia Ibrahim conducted the prosecution while Tian Chua was represented by counsel N.Surendran and Latheefa Koya. -- BERNAMA