PUTRAJAYA, Nov 7 — The appellant was aware that the 12 books she was using to complete her master’s thesis were related to terrorism, the Court of Appeal was told today.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Faizah Mohd Salleh further submitted that former public university Master’s student, Siti Noor Aishah Atam also did not deny that the 12 books belonged to her.
The DPP said the charge against Siti Noor Aishah, 30, was not defective as to jeorpardise her defence, and that the court needed to assess whether or not it was safe to convict her of the charge.
“Although the defence maintained that the charge against the appellant was not proven, it failed to provide new evidence,” she said in Siti Noor Aishah’s appeal against conviction and sentence.
The appellant was sentenced to five years in prison by the High Court after being found guilty of possession of 12 books related to terrorism on April 26.
The DPP said Siti Noor Aishah in her testimony at the defence trial also failed to cast a reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case against her.
Counsel Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla in his submission said the appellant was using the books for her studies and the knowledge she possessed should not be construed as a terrorist act or related to terrorist organisations.
He further submitted that Siti Noor Aishah bought the books because they were relevant to her thesis, ‘Implikasi Tauhid Dalam Pentadbiran Negara’ (Implication of Tauhid in National Administration).
“You can see from the appellant’s collection of books that she keeps various types of genres and various titles; it would be hard for her to tell that the books could be linked to terrorism,” he added.
The Court of Appeal panel comprised Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi, Datuk Kamardin Hashim and Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil.
The judges have deferred the ruling to a date yet to be fixed, to study certain legal issues related to the case.
The appellant who pursued her master’s degree in ‘Akidah dan Pemikiran Islam’ at University of Malaya in 2013, will complete her sentence which she is serving at Kajang Prison, on July 22, 2019.
She was found guilty of possession of 12 books on Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda (AQ) at Lot 1241, Jalan Lapangan Terbang Sura, Dungun, Terengganu at 12.25 pm on March 22.
The charge under Section 130JB(1)(a) of the Penal Code, carries on conviction a jail term of not more than seven years or a fine, and forfeiture of any property related to the offence.
On September 29, 2016, the High Court acquitted Siti Noor Aishah of the charge after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against her.
However, on March 27, 2017, the Court of Appeal granted the prosecution’s appeal and ordered the accused to enter her defence at the high court, which subsequently found her guilty. — Bernama
