KUALA LUMPUR: Political activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin , better known as Chegubard, claimed trial to two charges of criminal defamation and sedition at the cybercrime Sessions Court on Monday .
Badrul, who was represented by lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read before Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali.Badrul had earlier arrived at the court complex here at 9.20am on Monday. The 46-year-old was wearing a green"baju Melayu" and was brought to court in handcuffs by the police, Malay language daily Sinar Harian reported.
"Assalamualaikum, Selamat Hari Raya," Sinar Harian reported him as telling the media in the court complex lobby as he was led in.Badrul had posted comments on Facebook claiming there was a plan to build a casino in Forest City to revive the US$100bil township in Johor. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and officials of Berjaya Group and Genting Group have since denied a Bloomberg report alleging that Anwar had met Berjaya founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Genting Group chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay to discuss the issuance of a casino license for Forest City.