Two men pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here on Friday to charges of publishing offensive social media content targeting the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, in August.
The accused, Abdullah Aidid Mochtar @ Ahmad Duta, 44, and Ashadi Zul’izzi Zainal Abidin, 46, entered their pleas separately before Judge Muhammad Ilmami Ahmad.
Abdullah Aidid was accused of knowingly creating and initiating an extremely offensive post with the intention of hurting another person’s feelings through his TikTok account, “rookiebenz_albenzauto”, at 11.27pm on Aug 1.
Ashadi Zul’izzi faced a similar charge over a post published through his Threads account, “@razakahmad725”, at 2.39pm on Aug 4.
The posts were subsequently viewed by a complainant at Jalan Dutamas Seroja 5, Taman Segambut, at 12.34pm on Aug 4 and 12.15pm on Aug 5, respectively.
Both men were charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, punishable under Section 233(2) of the same Act.
If convicted, they face a maximum fine of RM500,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both. An additional fine of RM5,000 may also be imposed for every day the offence continues after conviction.
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) prosecuting officer Nazrul Nizam Mohd Zameri proposed bail of RM15,000 with one surety for each accused.
Both men were unrepresented in court and appealed for lower bail.
Abdullah Aidid told the court that he had lost his job three months ago following the case and had no fixed income, relying instead on occasional work at a friend’s workshop.
Ashadi Zul’izzi, who works part-time as a graphic designer, said his earnings depended on the number of customer orders he received.
The court allowed bail of RM12,000 with one surety for each man.
The case was fixed for mention on Dec 1 for the submission of documents.
