Man gets two years' jail for possessing IS-related items

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here sentenced an unemployed 22-year-old man to two years' jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of having numerous photos, documents and videos related to the Islamic State (IS) in his possession.

Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali passed the sentence after Muhammad Aabid Zarkasi pleaded guilty to the charges here on Wednesday (Nov 28).

For the first charge, Muhammad Aabid admitted to possessing 39 pieces of photos, 13 copies of documents in PDF form and 53 videos related to IS in his mobile phone.

For the second charge, he admitted to possessing a photo, two copies of documents in PDF form, and 10 videos related to terrorism in a pen drive.

The offences were committed at a house in Jalan Maju 3, Taman Serai Maju, Bagan Serai, Perak at 11.05pm on Sept 8, 2017.

Both the charges were under Section 130JB(1)(a) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum seven years' imprisonment, or a fine and possible forfeiture of the items, upon conviction.

Earlier, lawyer Mohamad Hafiz Jalaludin asked the court to show leniency to his client.

He said the accused came from a poor family.

"He is remorseful of his actions and asked for a second chance, as this is his first offence.

"The items in his possession were not distributed, they were only in his possession," Mohamad Hafiz said.

DPP Muhammad Fadzlan Mohd Noor said a guilty plea was not a mitigation factor that should be considered by the court.

"The court must uphold public interest in this case. I ask for a sentence that will serve as a lesson to the accused and the public," he said.

Justice Mohd Nazlan said the accused had committed a serious crime and sentenced the accused to two years in prison for each offence.

The court ordered for the sentence to run concurrently from the date of arrest on Sept 8 last year.