Boyfriend of ‘comedian’ claims trial to uploading ill-humoured videos
A man has claimed trial at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court today to two charges of creating ill-will through videos of a controversial stand-up routine at a comedy club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur last month.
The accused, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, 38, is said to be the romantic partner of Siti Nuramira Abdullah - who was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court earlier today for...
A man has claimed trial at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court today to two charges of creating ill-will through videos of a controversial stand-up routine at a comedy club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur last month.
The accused, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, 38, is said to be the romantic partner of Siti Nuramira Abdullah - who was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court earlier today for the said stand-up routine.
He was charged under Section 233 (1)(a) and Section 233 (3) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Dressed in a black hoodie and blue denim shorts, the bespectacled Alexander appeared wide-eyed before the court as he pleaded not guilty to the charge.
According to Section 233 (1)(a), he faces a maximum fine of RM50,000, or jail time of not more than a year, or both, if found guilty.
The same punishment applies to Section 233(3) of the Act.
The charges
For the first charge, Alexander was accused of sharing a post on his Instagram account on June 5 with the intent to offend others.
On the second count, the 38-year-old freelance writer was accused of allegedly sharing content on his YouTube account on June 16 with a similar intent.
Both offences allegedly occurred at a condominium in Damansara Perdana in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Alexander was represented by lawyers R Sivaraj, who also represented Siti Nuramira, and Ramesh NP Chandran.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Firdaous Mohamed Idris had, at first, sought for bail to be set at RM40,000 for each charge.
However, Sivaraj pleaded for the judge to factor the accused’s economic status into the judgement.
"We ask the court to please consider his background as he is just a freelance writer earning less than RM1,500 a month,” argued Sivaraj.
He also noted that Alexander previously worked as a diving instructor, but the tourism industry suffered because of the economic turmoil brought upon by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"He does not have a fixed job and the pandemic devastated his earning capability.
“I ask the court that no bail be necessary as he is not a flight risk," said the counsel.
Judge Azrul Darus then set the bail at RM10,000 for each charge. He had also fixed Sept 1 for the next trial date.
Viral video
Previously, a video of a woman who took off her headscarf and baju kurung on stage at the Crackhouse Comedy Club in TTDI had gone viral on social media.
Crackhouse Comedy Club said it banned the woman and her partner from the venue immediately after her stand-up performance and proceeded to lodge a police report.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has since suspended the club’s licence.
The suspension, however, received criticisms from comedians and netizens who believed the club should not be punished for the woman's action during an open-mic event on the premises.
Three days ago, the police detained Siti Nuramira and were granted a court order to remand her for investigation until yesterday (July 12).
Her boyfriend was picked up a day later (July 11) and his remand expires today.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.