Vivian Lee's court proceedings to continue

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yong Anne Nee told Judge Abdul Rashid Daud that the proceedings would go on without the presence of Alvin Tan, 27, in court.

Alvin failed to appear in court for the first time on June 13 last year when the case was mentioned.

The court issued an arrest warrant against him after he failed to return his passport to it while on bail. He has asked the court to return the passport to him for the purpose of shooting a documentary film in Singapore.

Alvin was again absent during Friday's proceedings.

Yong said the charge against Vivian, 26, still stood and the prosecution would produce four or five witnesses. However, lawyer Nur Adila Kamar Zaman who is representing Vivian, applied to the court to set another date for mention on the grounds that her client would apply to postpone the trial.

She said the application was also pending law lecturer, Azmi Shahrom's appeal against sedition charges in the Federal Court.

However, the judge rejected the application and set hearing for three days beginning July 13.

On Feb 18, the Federal Court freed Alvin and Vivian of one charge for allegedly stirring hostility between people of various faiths through their acts of uploading an image insulting Muslims during the month of Ramadan, through social networking site Facebook.

They were initially slapped with three charges. Following the Federal Court decision, the other two charges against Alvin or his full name Tan Jye Yee and Vivian or Lee May Ling, remained intact.

They were charged under the Sedition Act for posting a photograph with the caption 'Selamat Berbuka Puasa (with Bak Kut Teh...fragrant, delicious and appetising)' on Facebook.