Tech jailed for promoting terrorist acts

KUALA LUMPUR: An aircraft technician has been jailed a total of 10 years after he pleaded guilty to two counts of promoting terrorist acts.

Nor Hafizy Che Meh, 39, was charged with promoting Islamic State (IS) membership at his house in Kampung Melayu Subang between December 2013 and October last year.

He was also charged with giving permission for a meeting related to the terrorist group at the same time and place.

Both charges came under Section 130G(b) of the Penal Code for promoting the commission of terrorist acts and Section 130H(k) for providing facilities in support of terrorist acts.

Yesterday, High Court judge Justice Azman Abdullah sentenced him to five years for each charge and ordered the sentence to run concurrently from March 23, the day Nor Hafizy was arrested.

The judge said he hoped that Nor Hafizy would learn from his mistake.

In mitigation, Nor Hafizy's counsel Mohd Fadhly Yaacob said he has two wives and three children aged 11, nine and seven, adding that one of the children is handicapped.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam asked for a deterrent sentence to serve as a lesson to the accused.

Initial investigation showed that the accused was interested in the Islamic State ideology since 2013 when he followed Facebook postings by Ajnad AlSham militant group member in Syria, Mohd Lotfi Ariffin.

He later used his own Facebook account to share information about IS with his friends.

Nor Hafizy also used his rented house in Kampung Melayu Subang as a place to spread the terrorist ideology.