[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 25 Aug 1999
Time: 05:27:56
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Former Malaysian lawmaker freed from prison
KAJANG, Malaysia, Aug 25 (AFP) - Former Malaysian lawmaker Lim Guan Eng walked free from a prison here Wednesday after serving two thirds of his 18-month sentence for sedition and publishing false news.
"He's a free man," a prison official said, adding that Lim had been driven to the nearby town of Kajang shortly after dawn.
Accompanied by his father Lim Kit Siang, who also heads the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), he later returned for an opposition rally outside the prison gates where hundreds of supporters had gathered.
Shouting slogans against Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the supporters included members of the DAP, the Islamic opposition party and a new party headed by the wife of jailed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.
"We have long been waiting for his release," said Chong Eng, a DAP member of parliament. "It's a great relief."
Lim, who is deputy secretary-general of the DAP, was convicted on both charges and briefly jailed in April last year before losing several appeals. He started serving his sentence in August and subsequently lost his seat as a member of parliament, which he had held since 1986.
The 38-year-old son of the DAP leader was found guilty of publishing false news about an alleged sex scandal involving a 15-year-old girl and Rahim Thamby Chik, who was then chief minister of the state of Malacca.
Lim was also ordered to serve a concurrent 18-month sentence for sedition after speaking out about the government's handling of allegations that Rahim had raped a minor. Rahim, a member of Mahathir's ruling United Malay's National Organisation (UMNO), was later acquitted of the charges.
Lim was released after serving 12 months under a system whereby prisoners have their sentences reduced by a third for good behaviour.