M’sian Man Fined RM10,000 For Sending Facebook Messages That Insulted Prophet Muhammad & Islam

By Ammar Haziq  •  15 Mar 2021 in News

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After sending messages insulting the Prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam, a man was fined RM10,000 or 12 months jail time by the Sessions Court here today.

Judge M.M. Edwin Paramjothy passed the sentence on Mohd Zahrein Zakariah, 39, as the defendant after he pleaded guilty for both charges, Harian Metro reported.

For each charge, the court imposed a fine of RM5,000, or six months in prison if he fails to pay the fine, which the defendant managed to pay.

According to the first and second charges, Mohd Zahrein was charged with consciously making and initiating insulting messages with the intention to offend others through Facebook under the guise of “Semar Tilem”. Both submissions were read at UTC Mall Keramat at 11am on 8 May 2019.

The charge is made under Section 233 (1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and is punishable under Section 233 (3) of the same act which provides a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to one year or both. He may also be fined a further RM1,000 each day the offence is continued after conviction.

Earlier, lawyer L.A. Gomes who represented the defendant applied for a minimum fine on the grounds that his client has repented and promised not to repeat the same offence.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Dayana Mohamad asked the court to impose an appropriate sentence as a lesson to the accused and members of the public.

“Please ask the court to take into account that the OKS’s (the defendant) action has caused disruption among Muslims,” she said.