Papagomo Charged with Sedition, Inciting Hatred towards Agong
KUALA LUMPUR: Blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, popularly known as Papagomo, entered a not guilty plea to accusations of inciting hatred towards Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim in the Sessions Court here today.
The 41-year-old former UMNO Youth Exco Wan Muhammad Azri was charged with spreading seditious material on his Twitter or X platform about the proprietor of KK Supermart Superstore Sdn Bhd’s meeting with Sultan Ibrahim.
According to Paragraph 4(1)(c) of the Sedition conduct 1948, he is accused of committing this conduct at a condominium in Bukit Bintang at 12 p.m. on April 29. If found guilty, the maximum penalty is RM5,000 in fines, up to three years in jail, or both.
The charges against Wan Muhammad Azri were read before Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali. The prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutors Khairul Azreem Mamat, Mohd Sabri Othman, and Abdul Malik Ayob, while the accused was represented by lawyers Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali and Logen Eskander Abdullah.
Prior to this, Khairul Azreem did not offer the accused any bail; instead, he asked the court to impose a high bail amount in light of the seditious publication implicating the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“We also request a gag order so that the accused does not make any comments regarding this case to avoid disrupting the trial. This order is necessary as a precautionary measure to ensure that no provocative comments are made,” he said.
Muhammad Rafique, however, contended that his client’s accusations qualified for bail, citing Wan Muhammad Azri’s support of his wife and five children as justification for granting bail.
“We request the court to impose a bail amount of RM10,000, similar to what was imposed on Badrul Hisham Shaharin (United Information Committee member) or Chegu Bard who was charged under the same act three days ago (April 29) to maintain consistency in this case,” he said, also opposing the request for a gag order.
Wan Muhammad Azri was granted the rights on RM15,000 bond with one surety by Siti Aminah, who also added the requirement that he report to the police station once a month until the case is resolved.
“The gag order is not granted, and the court sets May 23 for the next mention of the case,” she said.
In the Sessions Court here on April 29, Badrul Hisham Shaharin entered a not guilty plea to two counts of sedition and making comments that were intended to harm the character of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim.
