KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 ― A university student was fined RM4,000 in lieu to three months jail by the Sessions Court here today for insulting Prophet Muhammad via her Facebook account.
Judge MM Edwin Paramjothy handed down the sentence on Ain Zafira Md Said, 28, after she changed her plea to guilty on the first day of her trial.
She was accused of using the Facebook account “Ain Zafira Md Said” to knowingly upload an offensive posting with the intention of causing annoyance to others at 12.05am on September 5 last year.
The posting was later read by the Cyber Crime and Multimedia Investigation Division, Commercial Crime Investigation Department of the Bukit Aman police headquarters at 27th floor, Menara KPJ, here on September 8, 2019.
Ain Zafira was charged under under Section 233 (1) (a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which provides a jail term of up to one year or a fine of up to RM50,000 or both if found guilty.
Earlier, Ain Zafira’s lawyer Nor Azri Mohd Arif pleaded the court for a minimum sentence on the grounds that his client, besides regretting her actions, had learnt her lesson.
“My client is the second of two siblings, still a student being cared for by her mother, who is a single parent.
“She is regretful over what she did and apologises to everyone affected by the posting, which has already been deleted,” he told the court.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Annur Atiqah Abd Hadi urged the court to hand a sentence that will act as a deterrent, saying that her act had angered Muslims in the country.
She said a deterrent sentence will serve as a lesson to all Malaysians to be more sensitive and careful before sharing their views on social media.
Ain Zafira paid the fine. ― Bernama
