There could have been three kinds of public reaction to malaysiakini's April Fool's joke .

The first would have thought that, at last, some action was being taken against corrupt officials. The second - made up of those who believed they were the subjects of the prosecution - would have panicked. The third would have thought, we have heard that junk before; we won't believe a word until we see some action.

The first group's elation would have been short-lived, the second would have breathed yet another sigh of relief, and the third would have said, 'Ha!'

So where's the offence?