KOTA BHARU: A hasty action due to anger led to consequences when a man was fined RM3,000 by the Magistrate's Court here on Tuesday after spreading pornographic, semi-nude photos of his ex-wife on the TikTok app.
The accused, Muhamad Azim Othman, 28, was sentenced by Magistrate Wan Mohd I'zzat Wan Abdullah after pleading guilty to the charges read out, according to Sinar Harian.
In his judgment, Wan Mohd I'zzat stressed that the act contradicted Islamic teachings.
"We are Muslims. This act should not happen. Even though we are angry, we need to be patient and not act beyond limits to the point of committing a crime," he said on Tuesday (Jan 13).
According to the charge, Muhamad Azim is accused of distributing semi-nude pornographic photos of his ex-wife, who was the same age as him, to a 27-year-old man via his TikTok account with the intention of humiliating the victim.
The offence was committed at Pengkalan Chepa at 10.32pm, Jan 5.
Based on the facts of the case, the accused first sent a message via WhatsApp to obtain a picture of the victim before distributing a screenshot of the picture.
The prosecution was made under Section 509 of the Penal Code, which provides for a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine, or both.
The case was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Haziqah Hassan, while the accused was represented by lawyer Tengku Shazuan Tengku Shariffudin.
In his appeal, Tengku Shazuan requested a reduced sentence on the grounds that his client regretted his actions.
He said the act was committed when the accused lost control of his emotions due to excessive anger. The accused also has two children, ages 5 and 1, and works in the food industry, earning approximately RM1,700 per month.
However, the prosecution requested a proportionate sentence as a lesson to the accused and society.
The court then sentenced him to a fine of RM3,000, or six months' imprisonment if he failed to pay it.
