KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Eight men including Gadek assemblyman G. Saminathan were today acquitted and discharged on charges related to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorist group.
Four separate high courts here ordered the release after a deputy public prosecutor informed that the Attorney General had instructed to discontinue proceedings against all the accused, in accordance with Section 254 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Besides Saminathan, 35, the other seven are technician S. Arivainthan, 28; security guard, M. Pumugan, 30; DAP member, V. Suresh Kumar, 44; Melaka Green Technology Corporation chief executive officer, S. Chandru, 39; teacher, Sundram Renggan @ Rengasamy, 53; scrap metal collector, A. Kalaimughilan, 29 and despatch rider, S. Teeran, 39.
All of them were charged with knowingly supporting the LTTE terrorist group through the Facebook application and attending the group’s related event.
The charge, under Section 130J (1) (a) of the Penal Code carries a maximum jail term of 30 years, or a fine, and forfeiture of any property used or intended to be used for the offence, upon conviction.
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COURT-LTTE 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR
Some of them were also charged with possessing LTTE-related items under Section 130JB (1) (a) of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail term of seven years, or a fine, and forfeiture of any of the items if convicted.
Yesterday, Seremban Jaya assemblyman P. Gunasekaren and taxi driver V. Balamurugan were also acquitted and discharged from the same charges.
This brings the total number of individuals who have been freed from the charges to 10 while two other accused storekeeper, S. Thanagaraj, 27, and businessman B. Subramaniam, 58, will be brought to court in the near future before being released.
All of them were detained under Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) and were placed in Sungai Buloh prison pending their trials. Under SOSMA they were denied bail.
Their cases have not been heard and they are still awaiting case management. However, the High Court had fixed trial for the cases.
Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas in a statement issued on Feb 21 decided to discontinue proceedings against the 12 accused on the grounds that there was no realistic prospect of conviction for any of them on any of the 34 charges brought against them.
— NNN-BERNAMA