Trader gets 13 years for IS-related offences

KUALA LUMPUR: A trader was jailed 13 years by a High Court here after he pleaded guilty to three counts of committing offences related to the Islamic State.

High Court Judicial Commissioner Ab Karim Ab Rahman sentenced Mohd Shaifful Shahril Ramli to eight years’ jail for providing support to the IS group via the Telegram application under the chat group, “amanah (phb) v. pas”, using a different name.

JC Ab Karim also jailed Mohd Shaifful for another 13 years for giving support to the commission of terrorist acts involving the use of explosives with the intent to spread an ideology which threatens the public.

For the third charge, the accused was jailed for two years for possessing items related to IS, which were a sweater and a flag with the IS logo.

The judge ordered the sentences to run concurrently from July 19 last year, the day Mohd Shaifful, 29, was detained.

In his judgment, JC Ab Karim said there were too many offenders who had given support to the IS.

“If the court does not contain such acts, the perpetrators will be encouraged to commit such acts that had been done by others.

“The Movida pub bombing was derived from an act of giving support (to the IS) and the court should take into consideration public interest and the seriousness of the case when meting out a sentence.

“Your name was added in the Telegram chat group by Wanndy (Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi) who was a known terrorist, and you should know who Wanndy is,” he said.

He added that the court could not accept the accused’s reason that he had never met the chat group members.

Mohd Shaifful committed the offence at No 3, Lorong Indah 1, Kampung Sri Indah B, Sungai Buloh between June 18 and July 22 last year.