Kuala Lumpur: This morning, comedian Rizal van Geisel has been charged by a cybercrime court with three counts of posting statements with the intent to harm others on social media platforms.
He is also one of the founders of the Crackhouse Comedy Club, who pleaded not guilty after the charges against him were read before Judge Noor Hosnia Abdel Razzaq.
Rizal has been charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, and faces a maximum prison sentence of one year, a fine of RM50,000, or both per count if convicted.
According to the indictment, Rizal, 39, uploaded a video to the Facebook page “Risal van Geisel” with the intent of harming others around 11.23pm on July 4.
The second and third charges state that Rizal uploaded the same video to the Instagram page “rizalvangeyzel” on July 6, and the Tiktok account on July 5.
Lawyer Ramkarpal Singh represented him, seeking RM6,000 bail because he said Rizal is the sole breadwinner for his family.
“Rizal has three children, ages three to 11, one of whom has dyslexia.” He said.
Ramkarpal added that his client also took care of his 74-year-old father and helped him pay for his cancer treatment.
However, the court issued bail of RM12,000 with one guarantee, ordered him to surrender his passport, and banned any social media posts regarding the case.
The court set August 19 a re-statement of the case. -TTKM Bulletin-
