Woman jailed for supporting IS

KUALA LUMPUR: A female assistant engineer at a factory was jailed eight years by the High Court here yesterday for using social media to support the Daesh (IS) terrorist group.

Judge Datuk Mohd Sofian Abd Razak meted out the sentence to Irma Julyanti Buang, 32, who changed her plea to guilty, and ordered her to serve the jail term from the date of her arrest on April 20.

Mohd Sofian, in his judgement, said the offence committed by the accused was serious and threatened the country’s security.

“The accused explicitly expressed her support and sympathy for Daesh, and as an educated person, she should have known about the violence perpetrated by Daesh in the Middle East, as the group’s activities have also been reported by the media.

“The court also doesn’t understand why the accused can be influenced by the ideology of the Daesh group, and be willing to support it,” said Mohd Sofian, who also advised the accused to use her free time in prison to study, in order to achieve her goal of acquiring a degree.

Irma Julyanti was charged with supporting the terrorist group using a Google+ account named Celestica-Irma Julyanti Binti Buang owned by her at the engineering room of the Celestica Factory (AMS) in Jalan Seelong, Johor Bahru, Johor from January 2016 to April 20, 2017.

The mother of one was charged under Section 130J (1) (a) of the Penal Code, which provides for a life sentence or maximum imprisonment of 30 years, or a fine, and may have any property used to commit the offence forfeited.

Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurfaida Mohd Rashidee had asked the court to impose a deterrent sentence considering the Daesh group’s increasing rate of violence in the Middle East.

In mitigation, Irma Julyanti, who was unrepresented, said she had repented, and promised not to repeat the offence, adding that she wished to pursue a degree in engineering to increase her income and help her family.

“Before being arrested by the police, I worked as an assistant engineer with an income of RM2,300 per month, and I was the sole breadwinner of the family, besides supporting my parents and grandmother, who had suffered a stroke,” she said.

Based on the facts of the case, the accused was arrested when a Celestica Factory security officer informed the police that the company’s security team in Canada had detected the misuse of the Google+ application under the name of Celestica-Irma Julyanti Binti Buang, which included many articles and pictures pertaining to war in the Middle East, and the Daesh militant group.

Investigations also revealed that Google+ account was registered using the email address ibuang@celestica.com, supplied by the company to the accused. - Bernama