JOHOR BAHRU (May 16): The Johor Bahru High Court has set May 20 to decide on a gag order against Bersatu Information Bureau Committee member Badrul Hisham Shaharin, or Chegu Bard, in relation to the casino project in Forest City.

Lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, who represented Badrul Hisham, said that judge Datuk Abu Bakar Katar made the decision after hearing arguments from the prosecution and defence on Thursday.

He said that the prosecution applied for a review of a gag order against his client from making or issuing any statements related to the case, after the Sessions Court rejected the application on April 30.

“The Sessions Court judge (previously) rejected the gag order application, but the public prosecutor was not satisfied with the judge’s decision.

“The public prosecutor has applied under Section 323 of the Criminal Procedure Code, for a review at the Johor Bahru High Court today, to set aside the order,” he said at a press conference at the court compound here.

On April 30, Badrul Hisham pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here on charges of issuing seditious remarks related to the casino project in Forest City.

He is accused of making seditious remarks on his Facebook account, under the name “Che GuBard”, at Mutiara Villa Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur at 6.30pm on April 26.

The charge is framed under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 (Act 15), which provides a maximum fine of RM5,000 or an imprisonment not exceeding three years, or both, if found guilty.

The court allowed bail of RM10,000 in one surety and rejected the gag order applied by the prosecution, in addition to setting June 24 for re-mention.