SHAH ALAM, 7 May: The Federal Government should not waste public resources by charging the Seri Setia Assemblyman, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, with the same charge after he was acquitted 12 days ago.
The Bar Council President, Christopher Leong, said that a person cannot be charged for the same offence when he has already been acquitted by a court of law and this is known as “double jeopardy”.
Nik Nazmi, 32, was charged under Section 9(1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) for failing to issue a 10-day notice to the police for the ‘Black 505’ rally, held in the wake of the last year’s general election.
He was acquitted of the offence by the Court of Appeal on April 25 in a landmark decision, and acquitted again by the Sessions Court yesterday after he was recharged.
“It is improper in law to recharge him for the same offence. It’s a waste of public resources,” he said, quoted from Malaysia Kini.
Yesterday, Judge Yasmin Abdul Razak made the decision after hearing an appeal from lawyer N Surendran to prevent Nik Nazmi from being retried.
She said the prosecution should instead appeal the Court of Appeal decision at the Federal Court – the country’s highest court – and not attempt to refile the case in the Sessions Court.
