Father and son jailed for holding back info on terror suspect

KUALA LUMPUR: An Indonesian man and his son were sentenced to 12 months’ jail by the High Court here for withholding information related to terrorism. Although they knew, they didn’t reveal to the authorities the identity of a terrorist who worked with them.

Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah meted out the sentence on Ahmad Omar, 53, and Jaffar Ahmad, 27, after they changed their plea to guilty when the case came up for mention.

Azman advised the two men, both construction workers, to not repeat their mistake and told them that their action was unreasonable.

“The person you are protecting is a terrorist. If we cooperate by reporting (to the authority), certainly terrorism can be eliminated.

“If you are not willing to report to the police, don’t bring them (criminals) to work with us,” he said.

Azman ordered Ahmad and Jaffar to serve their sentence from the date of arrest on Aug 30, 2017.

The two men were charged with withholding information on Abu Sayyaf member Hajar Abdul Mubin, also known as Abu Asri, at MAG-03 Persiaran Pangsa Baiduri, Hulu Langat, here.

They were charged under Section 130M of the Penal Code which provides an imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

In mitigation, Ahmad, who has been staying in Malaysia for 28 years, said he was the breadwinner and had six children.

Deputy public prosecutor Nurfaida Mohd Rashidee prosecuted. — Bernama