Former DJ Patrick Teoh charged over Facebook remarks against Johor crown prince
JOHOR BARU, June 14 — Actor and former radio personality Patrick Teoh was charged today at the Sessions Court here with allegedly insulting Johor Crown Prince Tunku Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim on a Facebook page last month.
Teoh, whose full name is Teoh Kah Yong, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out in front of judge Kamarudin Kamsun.
He is accused of insulting Tunku Ismail, commonly referred to as TMJ (the Malay initials for the Johor Crown Prince), at the Southern Tigers Sdn Bhd in the Tan Sri Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium here at about 5pm on May 8.
Teoh, 73, was accused of making a statement with the intention of offending the feelings of others.
The charge was made under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act, in which he was alleged to have used his Facebook account to knowingly make and initiate the transmission of an offensive communication with intention to annoy others at the same time and date.
A conviction will result in a maximum fine of RM50,000 or a maximum one-year jail term or both.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Syafiq Mohd Ghazali prosecuted the case while lawyers M. Puravalen and Wong Hong Yi represented Teoh.
Kamarudin set bail at RM10,000 with one surety and fixed July 20 for case mention.
He also ordered Teoh to refrain from making any statements on social and electronic media pending the completion of the trial.
On May 9, Teoh was arrested by a police team from the Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) at the Petaling Jaya Police headquarters.
The Johor police was acting on two reports lodged by two men, a software developer and contractor, claiming that Teoh had insulted Tunku Ismail.
Police also raided Teoh’s Armanee Terrace apartment unit in Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya, during which Teoh’s Apple MacBook Air laptop was seized during the search.
However, there was no mobile phone on him as he claimed to have lost it the day before.
Teoh’s arrest came after he was alleged to have posted an obscene sentence when he shared a video where Tunku Ismail was seen firing automatic firearms as part of his Johor Military Force (JMF) training exercises.
The post with the alleged obscene sentence has since been deleted from his Facebook page on May 14.
Related Articles Isa Samad to know his fate on CBT and corruption charges tomorrow Former lawyer claims trial in Seremban to CBT Melaka River and Beach Development Corp CEO charged with receiving RM260,000 in bribes
