KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3— Umno politician Datuk Lokman Noor Adam's contempt of court hearing could not go on today as scheduled, as the deputy public prosecutor conducting the case is under quarantine for Covid-19.
When the case was called up this morning before High Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Isa Mohamed indicated fellow deputy public prosecutor Izalina Abdullah was verified to be Covid-19 positive yesterday and will have to be quarantined for a week.
"Therefore I apply for another date for attendance. She conducted this case since the start," he explained.
Lokman's lawyer K. Balaguru indicated that he felt the Bar Council should attend the contempt of court proceedings to assist the court and to "call a spade a spade".
But the judge said there was no such need: "I think this is a simple case of contempt on the face of the court. Now that your client has effectively claimed trial to the show cause, we have to go through the motions of trial. I don't think the Bar Council needs to be involved in this."
Balaguru confirmed that Lokman's lawyers do not have any objections to the application to have the contempt case rescheduled.
The High Court then fixed the afternoon of August 17 for the hearing of the contempt proceedings against Lokman.
Lawyer Singara Velan today also appeared on behalf of Lokman.
Lokman, 49, who described his occupation as a "freelance blogger", was present in court today.
On June 30, Lokman had allegedly called a police officer "stupid" when the latter asked him to stop using his handphone during Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's trial. The trial was heard before Sequerah.
This is not the first time Lokman has been subject to contempt of court proceedings.
On July 15, 2021, Sequerah found Lokman guilty of contempt for action amounting to threatening a prosecution witness in former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2019 trial over the misappropriation of more than RM2 billion of 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s funds.
Sequerah had sentenced Lokman to one-month jail in relation to that contempt case. Lokman has appealed against the jail sentence, which is pending at Court of Appeal.
