Malaysia lawmaker convicted of biting policeman

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-22 14:45

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A Malaysian court convicted a prominent opposition lawmaker Thursday of biting a policeman at an illegal protest and sentenced him to six months in prison.

Tian Chua was found guilty in the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court on a charge of hurting a policeman who had tried to stop him from entering Parliament in December 2007 to protest a constitutional amendment.

Magistrate Faizi Che Abu sentenced Chua to six months' jail and fined him 3,000 ringgit ($900), but put off the penalty until an appeal can be heard in a higher court.

The fine means Chua could eventually lose his Parliament seat because legislators who are fined more than 2,000 ringgit ($600) or serve a year in prison must vacate their seats.

Chua, a longtime ally of top opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and a senior official in Anwar's People's Justice Party, has denied biting the policeman.

"The charge is a malicious charge and politically motivated," Chua told reporters. "We'll continue to fight in a higher court. I maintain that I'm innocent."

The policeman, Rosyaidi Anuar, accused Chua of biting his arm and spitting on him. His colleague testified that Rosyaidi had a red bruise on his arm after the incident.

Faizi ruled that Chua's testimony had inconsistencies and was not credible.

"I hope that this will send a strong message to the public" that such offenses are unacceptable, Faizi said.

Government lawyer Hanafiah Zakaria denied that Chua was unfairly prosecuted.

"You can champion whatever cause you want, but you still have to respect the law," he said.

At the time of Chua's alleged offense, he was not yet a lawmaker. Chua had sought to enter Parliament with other opposition activists to protest a constitutional amendment to electoral laws that they claimed would curtail civil rights.

Months later, Chua, 46, won a Parliament seat in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city, when a three-party opposition alliance wrested slightly more than one-third of the seats in Parliament in March 2008 general elections.

The landmark election results, prompted by public disenchantment with how the government was confronting corruption and racial discrimination, marked the National Front ruling coalition's poorest performance in its 52 years in power.