Trader jailed for supporting IS

KUALA LUMPUR: A trader gets two years’ jail after he pleaded guilty in the High Court here yesterday, to two charges of wearing a T-shirt bearing the Daesh (IS) symbol and to supporting the terror group.

Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah sentenced Muhamad Noor Helmy Mohd Sabri, 31, to three years’ jail for wearing the black garment with the prohibited symbol and another 10 years for giving support to the terror group via the Telegram messaging service, using the name, Abu Suffyan.

However, the court ordered the two jail terms to run concurrently from the date the accused was arrested, March 17, this year.

According to the facts of the case, the investigation into the accused’s conversation through the Telegram application found him expressing his wish to go to Paso, Indonesia to support and fight for Daesh before moving on to Syria.

The expert analysis, meanwhile, found 20 images from the Telegram chat which clearly showed that the accused was a hardcore supporter of Daesh.

The experts also opined that the accused was a dangerous messenger for Daesh and could be a threat to national security.

Judge Azman in his judgment said the court had studied the facts of the case and viewed seriously the accused’s conversation on Telegram on plans to cause destruction as championed by Daesh.

“Although it was just conversation and no action, it was still a great danger. If disseminated and implemented, it could cause a lot of destruction to the country. You have brought an ideology from another country to be applied in our country and this is very dangerous,” he told the accused.

Muhamad Noor Helmy had admitted to committing the offence of having a T-shirt with the Daesh symbol at a house, No. 382, Jalan 9, Taman Tapah, Tapah, Perak about 6.45pm on March 17.

The charge under Section 130JB(1)(a) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to seven years or a fine, and confiscation of the illegal item.

The accused also pleaded guilty to the second charge of knowingly supporting the Daesh terror group through Telegram where he had used the name, Abu Suffyan.

He allegedly committed the offence at the E8 (CounterTerrorism) Division office, police Special Branch, Bukit Aman, here, between Feb 22 and March 15, 2017. The charge under Section 130J (1)(a) of the Penal Code provides for life imprisonment or up to 30 years, or a fine, and confiscation of assets used in committing the offence or intended to be used in committing the offence.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Noor Syazwani Mohamad Sobry asked the court to pass a heavy sentence to serve as a lesson for the accused and taking into account, public interest.

However, Muhamad Noor Helmy who was not represented by counsel, pleaded for a light sentence, saying he regretted his mistake and would not repeat it. - Bernama