KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — An Indonesian duck breeder was sentenced to 30 months’ jail for possessing two photographs of the Islamic State terrorist group.
Eq Maulana Dunda, 25, who had just arrived in Malaysia a few months ago after marrying a local woman, was sentenced to jail by High Court Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah after he pleaded guilty to the charge.
The court ordered that the jail sentence commence from the date he was arrested on July 12.
Eq Maulana was charged with possessing in his handphone two photograph images connected to the IS terrorist group or had elements of terrorist activity, at a house with the address CB014, Cempaka B, Taman Sri Kolam 20000, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, at 11.15am on July 12.
He was charged under Section 130JB(1)(a) of the Penal Code (Act 574) which provides for a jail sentence of up to seven years or fine, while his items could be confiscated.
In his appeal, the accused who was not represented by counsel, said he obtained the photographs from Google on the Internet and had had them for a long time, and was not aware that keeping such photographs was a criminal offence.
“I regret it. I have kept them (the photographs) for a long time, when I was in Indonesia. I did not know. I plead for a light sentence… my wife is pregnant,” he said.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Munirah Shamsudin @ Baharum urged that the accused be imposed a commensurate jail sentence considering the fact that terrorism was a cross-border crime involving an international network, so that it would be a lesson to the accused and the public.
According to the facts of the case, a police team raided a house where the accused and his wife lived and found a handphone on the refrigerator in the kitchen.
Investigations found two photographs connected to terrorism while analysis by the police forensics expert confirmed that the photos depicted the symbols or identity of the IS terrorist group which indicated that their owner was inclined to thinking, planning and taking extremist action which threatened national security. — Bernama
