Man gets longer jail term for insulting King again

KUALA LUMPUR: A factory worker’s two months in prison did not make him repent as he was jailed again by the same Sessions Court for a similar offence he committed a year ago.

This time, Sharil Mohd Sarif (pic) will have to serve 10 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of insulting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong.

Sessions Court judge MM Edwin Paramjothy said it was clear that the accused had used abusive language which had gone beyond freedom of speech.

The judge also said that he had considered the accused’s state of mental health.

“I have observed his demeanour. The prosecution had given him a chance to prove his mental condition but until now, there is no proof to his claims, ” Edwin said in his judgment yesterday.

The court then sentenced the 37-year-old Sharil to 10 months’ jail for each offence and ordered the terms to run concurrently.

Sharil was seen smiling after the sentence was passed.

Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhamad Asyraf Md Kamal asked for a deterrent sentence on grounds that the accused had been sentenced for a similar offence in April last year.

“The offensive postings were made on the official Instagram account of Istana Negara during a live broadcast of the swearing-in ceremony for the eighth prime minister recently.

“His action had provoked rage and dissatisfaction from the public who were viewing, ” Asyraf said.

Sharil, who was unrepresented, told the court he was mentally unwell and asked for a fine.

According to the charge sheets, Sharil made the two offensive remarks with intent to abuse others on his Instagram account “s.sharilbinmohd” between 10am and 1pm on March 1.

The remarks were read through a Facebook account under the name Muhamad Safwan at the cybercrime and multimedia investigation division office of the Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigation Department on the 27th floor of Menara KJP in Wangsa Maju, here, at 4.06pm, the same day.

Sharil was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act, which provides a maximum fine of RM50,000 or up to one year jail, or both if convicted and a fine of RM1,000 for every day the offence is repeated after conviction.

On April 26 last year, the accused was sentenced to two months’ jail for insulting the King on his Facebook page.