SHAH ALAM, Dec 21 — Eight people pleaded not guilty at the Shariah High Court here yesterday to charges linked to deviant sect Tuhan Harun.
The three men and five women had their charges read separately before judge Zainal Abidin Kusmin.
They were charged with making false claims by declaring themselves as god clones, posting in Telegram chat groups claiming that Harun is god and conspiring to make similar false claims through the same application.
The charges, under Section 8B and Section 46B of the Syariah Criminal Enactment (Selangor) 1995, carry a maximum fine of RM5,000, imprisonment for up to three years, or both upon conviction.
Zainal Abidin allowed oral bail for all the accused with two local sureties and set the case mention for Monday.
Meanwhile, Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) director Datuk Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad in a statement said the accused were arrested during a raid in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang, at around 2.30pm on Thursday.
“Intelligence gathering revealed that the group's profile and modus operandi are similar to and closely related to the Tuhan Harun teachings,” he said.
He said Jais also confiscated several devices, including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and documents related to the sect during the raid.
— Bernama
