KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — A Sessions Court judge ticked off lawyer P. Uthayakumar's counsel today when he informed the court that his client was not in court as he was still in London seeking treatment for a heart ailment.
Judge Sabariah Othman told lawyer N. Surendran that the court would not tolerate any more delays.
"It has been more than a year since he (Uthayakumar) was charged in this court and I will not accept any more delays to this trial," said the visibly upset judge.
When she wanted to fix the case for next week, Surendran said that his client had an appointment with Spire Bushey Hospital in London on Aug 6 and that he could not ascertain the date of his return to Malaysia.
"He had a valid reason for not attending the trial today and I can assure this court, Uthayakumar will return as soon as possible and face the charge against him," he added.
The sedition trial had been fixed for three days from today.
Deputy public prosecutor Noorin Badaruddin objected to the postponement and applied for a warrant of arrest to be issued against Uthayakumar.
Noorin informed the court that the prosecution was only informed this morning about Uthayakumar's absence and that the request for a postponement from counsel was sent to the DPP's office in Kuala Lumpur, although he knew the DPPs handling the case were from the Putrajaya office.
On Dec 11, 2007, Uthayakumar, 48, was charged with publishing a seditious letter on a website, an offence which carries a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or imprisonment up to three years, or both, on conviction.
The letter, dated Nov 15, 2007, was from Hindraf and addressed to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Two days later, Uthayakumar was detained under the Internal Security Act following his involvement in a street demonstration here on Nov 25, 2007 and alleged seditious remarks against the government.
Sabariah fixed three days from Aug 28 to hear the case. — Bernama
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