On 30/10/98, the 178 persons arrested on Saturday(24/10) were brought to court and charged.They were charged with two(2) offences,

1. 1. Illegal Assemble - s.27(8) Police Act , which carries a minimum sentence of a fine of RM2000 and not exceeding RM10,000, AND imprisonment not exceeding 1 year.
2. 2. Rioting under s.147 Penal Code (..shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, OR with fine, or with both.)

All persons, except one, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. Trial is fixed for one month begining 8/2/98.Bail was set at RM2,500 with one surety for all, except 6 foreign nationals ( 5 Indonesian and 1 Thai).

With regard to the foreign nationals, the DPP said that their status was uncertain and that they were still waiting for confirmation of their status from the Immigration Department. Bail was rejected but the court asked the DPP to contact the lawyers, once the status of these persons was clear, and to then refer the matter again to court for the court to consider whether bail could be granted. (Note: With regards to foreign nationals, besides the bail being posted they will also be required to deposit their pasports with the court).

THE ONE WHO PLEADED GUILTY.
He said that he did not want the assistance of the Legal Aid Centre's lawyers. He chose to mitigate himself.

Stanley Augustine, the DPP, rather that pressing for a deterrent sentence, in fact went on to mitigate for the said person - ODD.(especially since he was pushing for a high bail amount (RM5000) saying that if the court sets a low bail then the court will be sending a "negative signal" to the public) So why did he not push for a deterent sentence. Why did he go out of his way to mitigate? UNLESS....

The one who pleaded guilty was sentenced to one month imprisonment begining from the date of arrest for the rioting offence. For the illegal assembly charge, he was imprisonned for 14 days from the date of arrest. Both sentences were to run concurrently.

Note: Last week also, one(1) person pleaded guilty. Coincidence???

The 177 accused were represented by lawyers from the Legal Aid Centre. DPP Stanley Augustine led the prosecution team. The hearing was done at the Pusat Latihan Police (Police Training Centre)...odd because one is normally charged in court. At the begining of the proceedings, Tuan Anand Namasivam, the Magistrate, declared the hall as court. Anyone who wanted to be present could be present in court. (Last week the family members and the memebers of the public were not allowed in. The number of Legal Aid Lawyers were also limited to 6 [later 10]...)