MP fined RM3,000, risks losing post

Padang Serai MP N. Gobalakrishnan was fined RM3,000 by a magistrate's court here on Friday morning, putting him at risk of losing his seat in the Dewan Rakyat.


N. Gobalakrishnan

Magistrate Ainul Bashirah Dona Don Biyajib delivered the sentence after finding him guilty of voluntarily obstructing Chief Insp V. Saravanan from discharging his duties at Jalan Utama.

"The prosecution has proved a prima facie case against him," she said after both the prosecution and defence counsels submitted.

RSN Rayer, who represented Gobalakrishnan, applied for a stay of execution pending an appeal but Ainul Bashirah rejected it and ordered Gobalakrishnan to pay the fine.

Gobalakrishnan, who committed the offence at around 12.20am on Jan 29, 2002, was charged under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a civil servant from discharging his duties.

During mitigation, Rayer told the court that Gobalakrishnan is an MP and hoped that the court will only impose a fine of less than RM2,000 as a higher fine will disqualify him as an MP.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Suhaimy Ibrahim pressed for a deterrent sentence as obstructing a civil servant from discharging his duties is becoming rampant.

When contacted, DAP chairman Karpal Singh said Article 48 of the Federal Constitution stated that any MP who is fined more than RM2,000 will risk losing the MP post. "He has the right to appeal against the decision and must submit the appeal within 14 days from the decision," he said.

Gobalakrishnan paid the fine at around 3.30pm.