KUALA LUMPUR, 28 Oct 2008: Tenaganita Sdn Bhd director Irene Fernandez wants the High Court to set aside her conviction and jail term on the grounds that the record of appeals is incomprehensible.
Her counsel, M Puravelan, told the court that a portion of the evidence notes written by the trial judge was unclear.
Following this application, Justice Datuk Mohamed Apandi Ali fixed five days beginning 24 Nov 2008 for Fernandez’s counsel and the prosecution to submit on the issue.
The judge adjourned the hearing of the appeal which was fixed for three days from today after allowing the postponement application by Puravelan.
Deputy public prosecutor Shamsul Sulaiman had no objections to the postponement.
Fernandez, 62, was sentenced to 12 months’ jail by the Kuala Lumpur magistrate court for maliciously publishing false news in 1995 under Section 8A(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act.
Fernandez was said to have exposed the poor conditions at immigration detention centres in a memorandum entitled Abuse, Torture and Dehumanised Conditions of Migrant Workers in Detention Centres.
The hearing of her appeal has been postponed a few times due to incomplete record of appeals including missing notes of evidence from three material prosecution witnesses and a missing document in the case.
The record of appeal was finally compiled but certain notes of evidence were unclear. — Bernama
