The Keningau Magistrate’s Court has found a man not guilty of insulting PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli’s modesty. The accused, Daing Muhammad Reduan Bachok, was acquitted and discharged from the offence under Section 509 of the Penal Code by Sessions Court judge Marlina Ibrahim, who ruled that the defence team had raised reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Daing Muhammad, 39, was accused of hurling profanities at Rafizi with the intention of insulting his modesty at a community centre in Kampung Merampang in Sabah’s interior Keningau district on Nov 3, 2018. However, three witnesses testified during the defence stage of the trial.
Prior to this, Daing Muhammad had been discharged and acquitted of the charge on Nov 5, 2021, without his defence being called, as the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him. However, on appeal, Kota Kinabalu High Court judge Justice Ismail Ibrahim ordered Daing Muhammad to enter his defence on May 3, 2023, ruling that the prosecution had proven a prima facie case against him.
Daing Muhammad, who hails from Selangor, was represented by counsel Amil Nohin, while Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugenie Meredith Gilbert appeared for the prosecution.
