4 jailed over bid to commit terror acts
KOTA KINABALU: Four Indonesians were each sentenced to 10 years’ jail by the High Court here for travelling to, through or from Malaysia for the commission of terrorist acts in a foreign country.
Suhantok Sahir, 31, Juhedi Jaya, 35, Muhamad Saripuddin Ahmad, 38, and Ali Abdulloh Narawi, 31, pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 130JA of the Penal Code (Act 574).
They were arrested off Tanjung Aru waters in Sandakan at 11.50pm on Dec 4 last year.
They were heading towards Jolo island in the Philippines via a boat in a bid to commit terrorism.
Judge Dr Awil Abdul Wahab said the offence was serious as the four accused used Malaysian waters to enter southern Philippines to commit terrorism.
He ordered them to be deported to their country of origin after serving their sentence.
Their counsel, Farazwan Haxdy, pleaded for a lenient sentence for the four men as no weapons were found on the seized boat and it was their first offence.
The four, including a former police sergeant, from different parts of Indonesia, had entered Sabah via an illegal route in November last year.
During their stay in Sabah, they had worked as plantation workers and farmers.
Farazwan said all of them had served five months’ jail under Section 6 of the Immigration Act for entering the state illegally.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Izhanudin Alias said the sentence (for the current offence) should serve as a lesson to other foreigners and the public that Malaysia would not tolerate terrorism or become a transit point for such activities.