KUALA LUMPUR – The Federal Territories Shariah Prosecution Department has decided not to pursue charges against Siti Nuramira Abdullah to avoid repeated charges in different courts against the woman, who is accused of insulting Islam during a stand-up open mic skit at the Crackhouse Comedy Club.
In a statement today, the department’s state prosecution chief said that the call was made based on Section 58(2) Act 505 of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act as well as Section 181 Act 560 of the Syariah Criminal Procedure (Federal Territories) Act 1997.
He added that prior to the decision, Siti Nuramira’s case was registered on July 13 based on preliminary investigations and the first mention had been set for July 14 before being postponed to tomorrow.
“Criminal charges have been initiated in the civil court on July 31 under Section 298A of the penal code. The problem is in preventing the accused from being charged in two different courts to achieve the same goal, which is to be punished for offences committed,” the statement read.
“In accordance with the maqasid (goal) of shariah which emphasises a disciplined approach in the administration of shariah crimes, it is hoped that the accused returns to true Islamic practices,” he said as quoted by Getaran, The Vibes’ sister portal.
Earlier today, The Vibes reported that Siti Nuramira’s legal team had confirmed that she will not be charged at the shariah high court today after being released from the custody of Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi).
Prior to releasing her without sureties or bonds, a paralegal to defence lawyer R. Sivaraj said Jawi had taken Siti Nuramira into custody at around 11.45am for investigations – noting that the woman is currently at a residence with her partner, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, who was also released from custody yesterday.
Sivaraj had previously told The Vibes that Siti Nuramira’s rearrest by Jawi was under Section 7 of the Shariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997.
Under the said section, Siti Nuramira may be charged with insulting or bringing into contempt, etc. the religion of Islam.
If found guilty, she would be liable to a fine not exceeding RM3,000 or face imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both upon conviction.
The couple had managed to raise enough money to secure their combined bail of RM40,000 four days after a crowdfunding initiative – supported by legal rights group Lawyers for Liberty – was started.
Sivaraj said many people have reached out to the defence team about donating to the duo who, at that time, had managed to gather about RM3,000.
Last week, Siti Nuramira, 26, pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting religious disharmony during her performance at the comedy club here, with judge Siti Amirah Ghazali setting bail at RM20,000 with one surety and August 18 for mention.
In a video that went viral on social media, she claimed to be a Muslim and to have memorised 15 chapters (juzuk) of the Quran, before stripping off her headscarf and baju kurung to reveal a sleeveless top and miniskirt.
Alexander, 38, also maintained his innocence to two charges under Section 233(1)(a) of the CMA 1998 for uploading insensitive material on online platforms and was facing RM20,000 bail in total. – The Vibes, July 20, 2022
