Man jailed seven months, fined RM10,000 for insulting Prophet, Islam
KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court yesterday sentenced an unemployed man to seven months' jail and fined him RM10,000, in default two months' jail, for having insulted Islam and Prophet Muhammad in a post on his Facebook account last month.
Judge Hasbullah Adam passed the judgment on Mohamad Yazid Kong Abdullah, 52, after the latter maintained his plea of guilty recorded last Friday for having posted an offensive communication with the intention to cause annoyance on the Facebook account in the name of Yazid Kong at 8.21 pm on Feb 24.
In his judgment yesterday, set for hearing the facts of the case and sentencing, Hasbullah said the action of the accused who had made an insult concerning religion, particularly Islamic religion, was serious and had challenged the Federal Constitution.
“The Federal Constitution states that the Islamic religion is the federal religion, your action truly challenged the Federal Constitution which formed the highest law in our country. You are fortunate for being charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 which only provided a maximum jail term of one year,” said the judge.
Mohamad Yazid Kong, who was wearing a grey T shirt and jeans, appeared calm and nodded slowly.
Earlier before the proceedings, Mohamad Yazid Kong's wife and two-year-old son were present in court and the woman cried loudly while saying, "You think about your son, how to eat every day,” she told the accused before being calmed by the lawyer.
The court also ordered Mohamad Yazid Kong to be jailed two months if he failed to pay the fine.
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhamad Asyraf Md Kamal applied to the court to impose a heavy jail sentence and fine for the accused who had uploaded the statement which had angered the Muslims throughout the country.
“No one in the multi-racial community in this country can accept any form of insult on religion.
“If it is allowed to continue it could jeopardise harmony among the multi-racial community in this country and subsequently threaten national security,” he said.
In mitigation, counsel Muhammad Syafiq Salleh who represented Mohamad Yazid Kong said his client apologised to the court and the whole Muslim community in the country for his action and appealed that he be imposed the most minimal jail term taking into account that he was a first offender and had pleaded guilty when he was first charged.
“My client converted to Islam when he wanted to marry his first wife previously and they have divorced. After converting to Islam, he had no guidance or support on Islamic teachings.
He has five children, four with the first wife, a Malay woman, and one with the new wife, an Indonesian national,” he said.
Last Friday, Mohamad Yazid Kong pleaded guilty on the charge of sending an offensive communication via the Facebook application using the profile name ‘Yazid Kong', at 8.21 pm on Feb 24, 2019.
The message was then read by another Facebook user, with the website profile 'Mohamad Syafiq' at Masjid Salahuddin Al-Ayubi, Jalan Taman Melati, Wangsa Maju, here at 12 noon on March 1 recently.
The man was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act 1998 and punishable under Section 233(3) of the same act which provides for a maximum fine of RM50,000 or a maximum jail term of one year or both and subsequent fine of RM1,000 for each day the offence is committed after conviction.
According to the facts of the case, the accused had uploaded a statement that insulted the Islamic religion and Prophet Muhammad PBUH on his Facebook website which was accessible via the handphone. - Bernama