KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has upheld a gag order against Mohd Khairianwar Jailani, the director of the controversial film Mentega Terbang. The gag order prevents him from discussing his charge until the case is resolved.
Justice K. Muniandy made the ruling after dismissing a review application by the director to remove the gag order imposed by the Magistrate’s Court on Jan 17.
The judge explained that he took into consideration the nature of the charge against Mohd Khairianwar and the trial’s impending commencement when making his decision.
The High Court also upheld Mohd Khairianwar’s RM6,000 bail but revoked an additional condition imposed by the magistrate, which initially required the accused to report to a nearby police station monthly.
Mohd Khairianwar submitted the review application on Jan 18 in an attempt to eliminate the gag order and the additional bail condition.
Earlier, his lawyer Zaid Malek contended in court that the magistrate’s gag order lacked justification and evidence that the accused had made statements about the case.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam and Nadia Muhd Izhar represented the prosecution.
On Jan 17, Mohd Khairianwar and film producer Tan Meng Kheng, 37, were charged with deliberately offending the religious sentiments of others through words and visuals.
The alleged offence took place at a premises in Jalan Semarak Api 2 at 12.34pm on Feb 26.
