Sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee have been allowed total bail of RM30,000 each, with two sureties, by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.

Bail was set at RM10,000 on each of the three charges Tan and Lee each face before the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur.

High Court judge Mohd Azman Husin, who allowed bail, imposed three strict conditions, including the impounding of their passports.

“The court allows the revision application based on Section 323 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Section 35 of the Courts of Judicature Act 2012,” Justice Azman said.

The court also ordered Tan and Lee not to upload materials or have access to smart network devices (smartphones) to upload materials that are provocative, pornographic and obscene and touch on religious and racial sensitivities.

Making the decision in chambers, Justice Azman also set another condition for the couple to report to the nearest police station on the first of every month.

This follows the couple’s application for a revision of the sessions court's denial of bail to them.

Tan was remanded at the Sungai Buloh prison, while Lee was held at the Kajang prison. They have been under remand for eight days since they were charged in the sessions court on July 18.

Three charges against Tan, Lee

They are charged under Section 4 (1) (c) of the Sedition Act 1948, with  making a seditious posting on their 'Alvin and Vivian - Alvivi’ Facebook site by uploading a photograph of themselves eating 'bak kut teh' (a pork dish) with the greeting ‘ Selamat Berbuka Puasa with bak kut teh ... fragrant, delicious and appetising’, together with the ‘halal’ logo.

NONE They each face a fine of up to RM5,000, jail of up to three years, or both, and jail of up to five years each for a subsequent offence if convicted on the first charge.

Tan and Lee are also accused of violating subsection 5(1) of the Film Censorship Act 2002, by displaying pornographic pictures on http://alviviswingers.tumblr.com/ from 9pm to 2am between July 6 and 7 at Kompleks Mutiara, Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur.

Conviction on the second charge will result in them facing a fine of between RM10,000 and RM50,000 or jail of up to five years, or both, upon conviction.

The couple also faces a third charge under Section 298A of the Penal Code, for uploading the same offensive Selamat Berbuka Puasa picture and comment on their Facebook pages.

Under this section, they stand to face jail terms of between two and five years, if convicted.

The second and third charges are supposedly non-bailable, but as in past cases, the High Court used its jurisdiction to grant bail.

Separate hearing bid denied

However, Justice Azman did not allow an application by lawyers Chong Joo Tian and Wong Kee Them for separate trials on each of the three charges.

“This is to save time and costs as they involve the same witnesses,” he said.

Chong wanted to have a separate hearing on the second charge, arguing that it was not related to the first and third.

The lawyer had also submitted that sessions judge Murtazadi Amran had acted wrongly in not granting bail to the two, after merely considering public interests due to pressures from politicians.

“However, it was reported in other postings that they had also apologised for the mistake and this was also reported in the media,” he said.

Chong also told the court that Tan was held in isolation in the Sungai Buloh prison, and by not granting bail was as if the court had already meted out punishment, despite the couple being innocent until proven guilty.

The prosecution led by Ishak Mohd Salleh mounted a preliminary objection to the revision application, arguing that it should be done by way of an appeal.

However, Justice Mohd Azman rejected the preliminary objection and ruled that the court had the power to hear the revision application.

Tan’s mother was working out on posting bail when court adjourned.

Chong, when contacted, said it does not look too good for bail to be posted today.

“I have asked the prison authorities to bring them to court tomorrow morning. It is unlikely that they would be released today due to time constraints,” he said.

The case has been fixed for mention on Aug 23 at the Sessions Court.