Selangor state exco member Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad today pleaded guilty to not giving notice for the Black 505 rally on May 8, 2013.

Nik Nazmi who is also Seri Setia assemblyperson pleaded guilty before Justice Ghazali Cha at the Shah Alam High Court.

Justice Ghazali imposed a fine of RM1,500 or two weeks in jail. Nik Nazmi who is the state exco for Education, Science and Innovation paid the fine.

According to the facts of the case, the PKR Youth chief gave notice to the police on the morning of May 8, 2013 and the gathering was held later that night.

DPP Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said police told Nik Nazmi to defer the gathering as they had not made preparations but the gathering went on.

Nik Nazmi's lawyer Syahredzan Johan, in mitigation, said this was his client's first conviction and asked that a fine of less than RM2,000 be imposed.

He said as Nik Nazmi is a state exco member and an assemblyperson, the Selangor constitution stated a fine in excess of RM2,000 or a long jail term would result in him losing his exco seat and his constituents would lose a state representative for the next few years as a by-election could not be called.

“This court has to take cognisance that the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court imposed a fine of RM1,950 on Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli for a similar offence,” said Syahredzan.

Wan Shaharuddin asked for a deterrent sentence to recognise the hardship such politicians caused in not abiding by the law despite having been given such rights like freedom of assembly.

Following that the judge imposed the fine.

Nik Nazmi pleaded guilty after three witnesses had testified in the trial which began last month.

It was previously reported that the Court of Appeal had previously struck down Nik Nazmi's charge after it declared the requirement to give the 10 days' notice was unconstitutional.

However, another Court of Appeal bench led by Court of Appeal president Justice Md Raus Sharif ruled in Johor PKR secretary R Yuneswaran's case that giving a 10-day notice was not against the constitution.

Following that Nik Nazmi and several others were re-charged under Section 9 (5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012. However, the Attorney- General's Chambers had asked that Nik Nazmi's case proceed in the High Court and not the Sessions Court.