The Rewcastle-Brown defamation case remains heard at the Kuala Terengganu Court
KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown who is facing charges of slandering Sultanah Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah will remain on trial at the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s Court.
This is after High Court Judge K. Muniandy rejected his application to transfer the case from the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s Court to the High Court here.
While rejecting the application, Muniandy said the power of transfer under Section 417 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) should only be exercised if the court found that not doing so could lead to an unfair or biased trial.
“The application by the applicant (Rewcastle-Brown) lacks merit. It is therefore dismissed,” the judge said and added that Rewcastle-Brown’s fear that he would not be given a fair trial in Kuala Terengganu was unfounded.
The judge also gave several reasons, among which the accused was considered innocent until proven guilty, the magistrate who heard the case in Kuala Terengganu was independent and impartial and she (Rewcastle-Brown) was not prevented from presenting arguments against the facts and the law before the magistrate reached something discovery.
“If the decision of the case is not in favor of the applicant, she has the right to appeal against the decision to the High Court according to Section 307 (1) of the CPC.
“The applicant is subject to the laws of the country in which he is accused of committing a crime, therefore the Malaysian legal system, including the national criminal justice process applies,” said the judge.
The judge then ordered the case to be heard at the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s Court and it needs to proceed to trial without any further obstacles since the date of the charge is already long, which is 23 Sept 2021.
Rewcastle-Brown, who is from the United Kingdom, was charged in the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s Court in absentia in September 2021 on the charge under Section 500 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum prison sentence of two years or a fine or both, if convicted.
He is accused of issuing defamatory statements against Sultanah Nur Zahirah through the book “The Sarawak Report – The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose”.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Haslinda Che Seman represented the prosecution while Rewcastle-Brown was represented by lawyer Guok Ngek Seong. Present at today’s proceedings, Siti Anis Che Ab Wahab who acted as an observer lawyer for Sultanah Nur Zahirah.
The Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s Court fixed June 25 for the mention of the case.
