Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian court sentenced a prominent opposition lawmaker Thursday to six months in prison for biting a police officer at a protest two years ago. Tian Chua, a longtime ally of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, was found guilty in the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court on charges of hurting the policeman who tried to stop him from entering Parliament in December 2007 to protest a constitutional amendment.
Aside from the jail term, Tian Chua was also fined 3,000 ringgit (857 dollars). He was granted a stay pending an appeal.
If his appeal is rejected, the 46-year-old lawmaker would be stripped of his parliamentary seat. Under Malaysian law, legislators jailed for more than a year or fined more than 2,000 ringgit must vacate their Parliament seat.
Chua, who is strategic director of the opposition People's Justice Party, led by Anwar, has denied biting the policeman.
Chua, who was not yet a lawmaker at the time of theoffense, had sought in 2007 to enter Parliament with other opposition activists to protest a constitutional amendment they claimed would curtail civil rights.
A scuffle ensued when police tried to stop them from entering, resulting in the officer claiming he had been bitten and spat on by Chua.
Barely four months after the incident, the three-party opposition alliance won slightly more than one-third of the seats in Parliament and Chua won a parliamentary seat in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
