BUKIT MERTAJAM, Jan 13 ― A 29-year-old unemployed man was fined RM3,000 by the Sessions Court for defiling a Thai Buddhist temple earlier this month.

Mohd Firdaus Saib, 29, pleaded guilty to damaging two Goddess of Mercy statues and an altar of a Nam Kuat Buddha shrine at the Wat Chantararam Thai Buddhist Temple in Bukit Mertajam.

He admitted to causing the damages to the temple with the intention of insulting Buddhism at about 10.10am on January 2.

When asked if he understood his guilty plea to the charge under Section 295 of the Penal Code, he nodded and admitted to it.

The charge carries a sentence of up to two years jail/ a fine or both upon conviction.

After he pleaded guilty to the charge, a court interpreter read out the facts of the case and showed Mohd Firdaus pictures of the damages in the temple.

Mohd Firdaus agreed that he had pushed and kicked the statues in the temple, as well as causing damages to the altar in a shrine within the temple.

During mitigation, Mohd Firdaus plead to be released under supervision for committing the offenses.

Sessions Court judge M. Vijayalakshmi then fined him in default of three months' jail.

The case drew the attention of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Permatang Pauh MP Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who both visited the temple after the incident.

Anwar expressed his concern for the case and that local Muslim religious leaders are equally concerned over the incident.

He stressed that this was an isolated incident and that this did not reflect the general attitude of Muslims towards other faiths.

Lim had said the state government will provide financial compensation to the temple as the 100-year-old temple is considered a heritage site.