Self-exiled Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) chief P Waythamoorthy came under fire for claiming that the 27 Hindraf supporters slapped with a RM1,000 fine by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court last week were treated unjustly.

n sivananthanIn a statement today, their lawyer N Sivananthan (right) denied the allegation and called on all quarters to stop politicising the issue.

He also took a swipe at the London-based Waythamoorthy, saying that he found the latter's remarks "offensive and ignorant."

On Saturday, Waythamoorthy, a lawyer himself, criticised the fixing of a two-month continuous hearing as too taxing and could lead to the accused losing their jobs.

The 27, who were mostly odd-job workers and labourers, were among 54 individuals jointly charged for participating in an illegal assembly on Nov 25 last year in Kuala Lumpur.

They had since pleaded guilty to not adhering to the police’s order to disperse and fined RM1,000 each for the offence.

'Clients treated justly'

Sivananthan said that the unjust treatment allegation was being equated to the fact that the court had given priority and its time to the trial of the said matter.

"I would like to categorically deny this (the unjust treatment allegation). The offence on which the guilty plea was taken carries a maximum two years' imprisonment or fine (any amount) or a combination of both.

"Not only did the court only impose a RM1,000 fine, a time period of two months was also allowed for payment of the same with a proviso to extend the period to six months on a case-by-case basis," he said.

p waytha moorthy"As a lawyer, I can confidently say that my clients have been treated justly and I find the comments made by Wathyamoorthy (left) from his refuge in London not only offensive but also ignorant.

"The admission of guilt was on the basis that my clients accepted the fact that laws need to be followed and that a failure to disperse when told to do so amounts to a breach of that law," he added.

'Stop politicising'

Meanwhile, Hindraf legal advisor N Surendran had told reporters on Saturday that initially, the trial was supposed to last two weeks but was somehow extended to two full months.

Surendran said he spoke to some of those who had pleaded guilty and claimed that many of them took the plea to avoid being absent from work and be subsequently axed.

"You can see here the enormity of the injustice. We have 27 people who have been forced to plead guilty because of a miscarriage of justice," he said.

Responding to this, Sivananthan noted that the comments made by Surendran are rather suspect since none of his clients had indicated that they were being "forced" to plead guilty.

"I don't think he quite understands the concept of miscarriage of justice. The difference here is that my legal team and I are acting only as lawyers and not politicians whilst the individuals who are making these allegations are trying to dramatise this issue for reasons best known to them.

"I would therefore be grateful if the plea of guilt is not politicised by all parties concerned."