KUALA LUMPUR: A welder has been sentenced to a total of 78 years in prison by the High Court here after pleading guilty to 16 charges of dealing with the property of two Islamic State members and possessing videos related to the terrorist group.
Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin sentenced Rosdy Benjamin, 45, to five years in prison for each of the 15 charges of dealing with terrorist property and three years in prison for the charge of possessing the videos
However, he was ordered to serve all the jail sentences concurrently from the date of arrest on Aug 24, 2023.
When handing down the sentence, Judge Muhammad Jamil said he took into account public interest and the serious nature of the offence committed.
"The court must give a proportionate sentence to teach the accused a lesson so that he does not repeat the offence and as a lesson to others.
"I also take into account the guilty plea as it saves time and costs for all parties, besides this being the accused's first offence," he said.
According to the 15 charges of dealing with terrorist property, Rosdy was alleged to have allowed the deposit of RM63,450 into his Maybank account and then the withdrawal of RM62,801.06 from the account for the benefit of two members of the Islamic State group.
The offence was committed at Maybank Pusat Perdagangan, Pasir Gudang Branch, Johor Bahru, between March 1, 2015 and June 3, 2016.
The charge, under Section 130Q(1) of the Penal Code, provides imprisonment for up to 20 years or a fine and the forfeiture of any property involved.
He was also charged under Section 130JB(1) (a) of the Penal Code with possessing two videos related to the Islamic State terrorist group on a mobile phone in Taman Scientex, Pasir Gudang, Johor Bahru, on Aug 24, 2023.
Based on the facts of the case, Rosdy was arrested by a team from the Bukit Aman Counter-Terrorism Division of the Special Branch (E8) at 9.23am on Aug 24, 2023.
He was arrested at Taman Scientex, Pasir Gudang, on suspicion of involvement in terrorist financing activities.
The results of the investigation found that he had handled terrorist assets through 15 transactions from a Maybank account between March 1, 2015, and June 3, 2016, and subsequently through the services of a money remittance agent to two men involved with the Daesh group.
During mitigation, Rosdy, who was unrepresented, said he has a wife, three children and parents to support. He also said it was his first offence and promised not to repeat it.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mariam Jamielah Ab Manaff. – Bernama
