KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here today fined an unemployed man RM10,000, in default three months in jail, for posting an offensive comment about Islam on Facebook three years ago.
Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali meted out the sentence on Engkiai Suwai, 48, who pleaded guilty to the charge.
Engkiai was charged with making and initiating the transmission of the offensive comment on his Facebook account, “Engkiai Kiai,” with the intent of annoying others on May 20, 2021.
The post was read at the office of the Police Cyber Investigation Response Centre (PCIRC), Commercial Crime Investigation Department, Wangsa Maju, at 11:24 am on May 22, 2021.
The charge, framed under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and punishable under Section 233(3) of the same Act, provides a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to one year, or both, upon conviction, and can be fined RM1,000 for each day the offence continues after conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Ahmad Hijrah Wan Abdullah appeared for the prosecution while Engkiai, a single parent with six children, was unrepresented.
