The Ampang Sessions Court today convicted Abdul Khalid @ Khalid Jafri Bakar Shah - author of the book 50 Dalil Mengapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM (50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Be PM) - for publishing false information in the book.

Khalid, however, maintained his innocence when briefly speaking to reporters after Judge Mohamad Saman Mohamed Ramli adjourned the hearing and set July 6 as the date for sentencing and mitigation.

His bail was also extended by the judge.

The judge had earlier, in an oral judgement, ruled that the prosecution had proven its case against Khalid, who happened to be celebrating his birthday today.

"It is evident that you failed to put the word 'suspicion' ahead of the accusations you made in the book," Mohamad Saman said.

Khalid, who was accompanied by this wife Rozihan A Ghani, did not display any emotions when the sentence was read out to him.

The former journalist was found to have committed the offence - of writing and publishing false news with mala fide intentions - at his publishing company Media Pulau Lagenda office in Ampang in May 1998.

He was charged under section 8A (1) of the Printing, Presses and Publications Act 1984 which carries a maximum jail sentence of three years or a fine of RM20,000 or both.

Khalid, who was awarded a datukship by the Malacca state government last year, was also found liable, in April, of defamation against former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Illegitimate child

The charge primarily centred around the fact that Khalid, in his book, had said that Anwar fathered an illegitimate child with the wife of his then private secretary Azmin Ali.

Azmin lodged a police report against Khalid and the contents of the book when it was circulated to Umno members before an Umno general assembly in 1998. The book was also said to be distributed to some before an injunction was applied against it by the ex-deputy premier.

The court had been told, in the course of previous hearings, that a DNA test had been conducted by the police to ascertain whether or not Azmin's youngest daughter was in fact his biological child.

"The chemist, in his report, had said that there was a 99.9 percent probability that the two blood samples - each from Azmin and his daughter - showed paternal relationship," judge Mohamad Saman added.

The defence, however, had raised the issue of irregularities in the process of obtaining the samples and had submitted that the sample given could have not been that of the daughter in question.

The judge rejected that argument in passing his judgement today.

Saseedharan Menon and Shamsul-Bahrain Ibrahim represented the accused while the prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar. Counsel J Leela held a watching brief for Anwar.