Factory worker jailed second time for insulting king

The language used was abusive and went beyond freedom of speech, the judge said.

KUALA LUMPUR: A factory worker has been jailed for the second time after spending two months behind bars for insulting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong with comments on his Instagram account last year.

Sharil Mohd Sarif, 37, pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced to 10 months’ jail on each charge, to be served concurrently from the date of arrest on March 2.

Sessions judge MM Edwin Paramjothy said it was clear that the accused had the intention to post offensive remarks. “The language used by the accused was also abusive and obscene and had gone beyond freedom of speech,” the judge said.

Sharil was seen to be smiling after the sentence was passed. He will serve his sentence at Kajang prison.

According to the charge sheet, the accused made two offensive remarks on his Instagram account under the name s.sharilbinmohd between 10pm and 1pm on March 1.

Deputy public prosecutor Muhamad Asyraf Md Kamal asked the court to impose a deterrent sentence as the accused had been sentenced for a similar offence in April last year.

“His offensive remarks were made on the official Instagram account of Istana Negara during a live broadcast of the swearing-in ceremony of the eighth prime minister recently,” he said.

In mitigation, Sharil, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a fine on the grounds that he was unwell and was his family’s sole breadwinner. - FMT