Nineteen Indian workers were each slapped with a fine of $300 or one week imprisonment in default. The sentence was order by the Bandar Magistrate’s Court yesterday after they pleaded guilty in supporting an ancient Indian sport of ‘Jallikattu’, which is an offence under section 9 of the Public Order Act (POA), Chapter 148, punishable under section 12(1) of the Act.

Jallikattu is traditionally played in Tamil Nadu in Southern India during the Pongal festival, or the Tamil harvest festival. In this sport, a bull is released into a crowd of people who then attempt to grab the hump of the bull with both arms and hold on to it while the bull attempts to escape. The participants will hold on to the hump for as long as possible to bring the bull to a stop, and in some cases, participants must ride the bull long enough to remove flags on the bull's horns.

The defendants, who were all working at BLNG COGEN Power Plant, admitted that on January 21, 2017, one of the defendants printed out nine flyers saying “I support Jallikattu” with an image of a bull. This is followed by a group photograph with the printed flyers.

Three of the defendants then shared the group photo on their Facebook account. A report was lodged a few days later at the Sungai Liang Police Station regarding the photograph. This has raised Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF)’s concern which led to the investigation.

In sentencing the defendants, Chief Magistrate Muhammed Faisal bin Pehin Dato Haji Kefli reminded the public to obtain a permit to hold a public meeting from the Commissioner of Police as required under section 9 of the POA.

The Public Prosecutor was represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor Dayangku Didi-Nuraza binti Pengiran Haji Abdul Latiff All 19 defendants were represented by Leney Andrew Albert of Ahmad Isa and Partners.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BRUDIRECT.COM

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