KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — Controversial rapper Wee Meng Chee was ordered to perform three months of community service after he pleaded guilty to insulting an officer from energy provider Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in 2009.
Yesterday, Muar Sessions Court judge Roszianayati Ahmad had offered Wee two alternative penalties, a three-month jail sentence or community service for the same duration, according to local media reports.
According to The Star, the rapper commonly known as Namewee took the second choice, where he will now have to do daily community service for four hours, with the three-month sentence to run from his conviction date.
Failure to do so will see him given a three-months jail term instead and losing his bail.
The judge had fixed RM5,000 bail with one surety to bind Namewee to show good behaviour for three months, local daily New Straits Times (NST) reported.
Wee’s sentence was meted out following his conviction under Section 509 of the Penal Code, which comes with a penalty of a maximum five-year jail sentence, a fine or both.
According to the reports, the 31-year-old Johor man was charged with uttering obscene words in Mandarin with the intention to insult and disgrace TNB officer Wan Mohd Faizal Wan Hamat.
The offence was said to have taken place in Wan Mohd Faizal’s TNB office at Jalan Temenggong Ahmad at 10pm on October 6, 2009.
Wee was said to have uttered the words when making a complaint over the time taken to restore power supply.
Five men, including the officer on duty then, Wan Mohd Faizal, were present during the incident.
The 2009 incident was recorded and posted on popular video-sharing website YouTube, NST said.
After the High Court issued a warrant of arrest on August 7 this year, Wee was arrested by police weeks later on August 26.
Namewee, who is also a filmmaker, first shot to fame in 2007 with his controversial YouTube video using elements of the national anthem.
