The government today charged nine Falun Gong members with technical offences punishable by jail time and heavy fines, drawing allegations that it is persecuting the sect at the bidding of the Chinese government.

The directors of the Malaysia-based Falun Dafa Research Centre pleaded not guilty to six counts of breaching the Companies Act at the magistrates court here.

"This is an unprecedented and frivolous prosecution against each and every director of the company," said their lawyer Edmund Bon, adding that many companies committed similar technical breaches without penalty.

The members of the spiritual movement have already paid fines of RM2,050, but now face further fines or up to five years in jail after being charged in court by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).

"The Chinese government and the (Malaysian) home ministry have put pressure on SSM to try and close this company down," Bon said.

The offences include failing to hold an annual general meeting in the state where their company is registered, not lodging minutes of meetings within 14 days, and failing to keep a proper membership registry.

National security

Bon said that the Companies Commission had previously threatened to shut the Falun Dafa centre down on the grounds of national security, but backed down when it wrote a letter explaining that its activities did not pose any threat.

The centre said in a statement that it was convinced the campaign against it was being driven by the Chinese government, which has banned the movement there.

"We believe that Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted in Malaysia to stop us from continuing to highlight the blatant abuse and ill-treatment of our fellow practitioners in China. This should stop," it said.

"We hereby appeal to the Malaysia government to ensure the rights of Falun Gong practitioners to practise their thought, conscience and belief and that their freedom of expression is not curtailed or stifled," it said.

The Falun Gong, which combines meditation with Buddhist-inspired teachings, once claimed millions of followers in mainland China but has been outlawed as an "evil cult" since 1999.