TV PAKATAN RAKYAT

Batu MP Tian Chua was today jailed six months and fined RM3,000 after he was found guilty by the magistrate's court of biting a police constable and preventing the officer from discharging his duty in December 2007. Chua, 46, whose full name is Chua Tian Chang, committed the offence against PC Rosyaidi Anuar, 21, in front of Parliament House in the incident on Dec 11, 2007. Chua, the PKR strategic director, was charged under Section 332 of the Penal Code and could have been jailed up to three years.

He faces the possibility of losing his parliamentary seat as the fine exceeds RM2,000. Chua was granted a stay of execution pending appeal. Chua committed the offence during a Bersih gathering to protest against constitutional amendments extending the retirement age of Election Commission members from 65 to 66. Earlier, magistrate Mohd Faizi Che Abu said he found Chua not to be a credible witness as his defence was a mere denial. In an immediate response, Chua said the judgment was not fair as the judge and prosecution had relied on the evidence of the constable and based it on circumstantial evidence. "It did not prove the biting took place," the MP said.

PKR Batu lawmaker Tian Chua said today his team of lawyers will appeal in 14 days his conviction by the Magistrate’s Court today for biting a police constable’s ear, in a bid to keep his MP post. The 46 year-old was sentenced to a six-month jail term and a fine of RM 3,000 for the offence committed on policeman Rosyaidi Anuar during a protest organised by poll reform group Bersih in front of Parliament two years ago. Should he lose his appeal, the country is set to stage the 10th by-election since Election 2008, and the first to be held in the country’s capital city. The Batu MP was charged under Section 332 of the Penal Code and could have been incarcerated up to three years.

When approached by reporters outside the court, Chua insisted on his innocence, saying that the conviction by magistrate Mohd Faizi Che Abu was unfair as he and the prosecution had relied solely on proof given by the constable, and was therefore based on circumstantial evidence. Appearing calm and composed in Parliament later, Chua said the conviction will not affect anything and that it was business as usual for him. “I will continue to serve the people and perform my duty as the people’s representative,” he told reporters in Parliament. “The work of Bersih to pursue reform in the electoral system to ensure that free and fair elections takes place will also go on,” added a smiling Chua. The PKR leader is member of the Bersih steering committee.