[UPDATED] Crackhouse’s Rizal van Geyzel to be freed from police custody tonight

KUALA LUMPUR – Crackhouse Comedy Club co-founder Rizal van Geyzel will be released from police custody tonight after being remanded for a day, according to his lawyer Ramkarpal Singh.

Rizal was called in for questioning yesterday at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters regarding investigations into several viral videos he had allegedly appeared in and was detained overnight to be presented at court today. 

Ramkarpal told The Vibes that the court had denied the police request to remand Rizal for four days, instead granting a one-day remand. 

“The police asked for an extension of four days’ remand but the court allowed (for) one day. He will be released this evening,” he told The Vibes. 

It was reported yesterday that Rizal is being investigated under the Sedition Act 1948 and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. 

In a statement issued by federal police secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin, police confirmed the arrest of a 39-year-old man in the Klang Valley to assist investigations into two videos purportedly taken at a comedy club.

A source had earlier told The Vibes that police had taken Rizal to his house to obtain the clothes he wore in one of the videos, supposedly to aid in the hosting of an identification parade. 

Previously, Bersatu Associate Wing information chief S. Gobi Krishnan had lodged a police report against Rizal for allegedly insulting Malays in a viral video where the comedian had spoken in Tamil.

Similarly, Persatuan Kebajikan Islam dan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia Johor chairman Tazul Arifin Nasri had yesterday filed police reports against Rizal at the district police headquarters of south Johor Baru and Shah Alam. 

The Semboyan Malaysia Consumers Association had also taken their grouses to the Brickfields district police headquarters yesterday, with its chairman Yusuf Azmi asserting that members will hold a protest on the comedy club’s premises if authorities do not permanently shut down the business.

Recently, the comedy club has been embroiled in controversy, following a viral video of a woman claiming to be a Muslim and to have memorised 15 chapters (juzuk) of the Quran before stripping off her headscarf and baju kurung during an open mic comedy skit at the club on June 4. 

On Wednesday, Siti Nuramira Abdullah, 26, had pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting religious disharmony during her open mic skit at the Crackhouse Comedy Club here, with judge Siti Amirah Ghazali setting bail at RM20,000 with one surety and August 18 for mention.

Her partner, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, 38, also maintained his innocence against two charges under Section 233(1)(a) of the CMA 1998 for uploading insensitive materials to online platforms, and is facing a RM20,000 bail in total. 

The duo is now appealing to the public for financial aid to make bail after failing to cough up the required amount on Wednesday itself. 

Their lawyer, R. Sivaraj, told The Vibes that a crowdfunding campaign will be launched sometime today as some people have expressed an interest to donate. 

It was also learned today that Siti Nuramira will soon be charged at the shariah court here, with Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary confirming this with Getaran, The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal. – The Vibes, July 15, 2022