Malaysian bloggers face jail for Facebook pork pic

A Malaysian couple have been charged with sedition after posting a Ramadan greeting with them seen eating pork on Facebook.

Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee became notorious in Malaysia for running a sexually explicit blog. But now it seems that the government has charged them with sedition after posting a Facebook photo which showed them eating pork.

Apparently eating pork in a Muslim country in Ramadan is a threat to the government's stability.

They pleaded not guilty in a Kuala Lumpur district court, and the court denied them bail. It looks like the pork snap means that they will remain in jail at least until the next court date which is set for 23 August.

If found guilty of sedition, they face a jail term of up to three years.

According to ZDNet it looks like the government has all sorts of pain lined up for the pair. The bloggers are likely to face charges of causing disharmony on religious grounds and possessing or producing obscene content, which can lead to a jail term of up to five years.

The duo have apologised for the picture but Malaysia's Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin rejected it and demanded that they be punished.

The country's prime minister, Najib Razak, also issued a rebuke. "The insolent and impudent act by the young couple who insulted Islam showed that freedom of expression and irresponsible opinion can jeopardise the community".

Najib is currently trying to replace the current sedition act, but has been attacked by opposition groups saying that the new law is designed to stifle political dissent.

If the old law can jail a young couple for eating pork, then the new one could be even sillier.

Tan and Lee hit the headlines when they posted photographs and videos of their sexual exploits, including close-ups of their genitals.

Tan's scholarship at the National University of Singapore was terminated following the public outrage over their blog.?

Source: http://news.techeye.net/security/malaysian-bloggers-face-jail-for-facebook-pork-pic

derek fisher lyrid meteor shower hippocrates andrew breitbart penguins the band colton dixon