Welder jailed 3 years for handling IS member’s funds

Zairul Mahmud pleads guilty to two counts of handling funds belonging to a member of the terrorist group 10 years ago.

High Court judge Nurulhuda Nur’aini Nor ordered for Zairul Mahmud’s jail term to run from the date of his arrest on July 23.

KUALA LUMPUR:

 A contract welder was sentenced to three years in prison by the High Court here after pleading guilty to two counts of handling funds belonging to a member of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group approximately 10 years ago.

Justice Nurulhuda Nur’aini Nor imposed the sentence on Zairul Mahmud, 40, and ordered for the jail term to run from the date of his arrest on July 23, 2015.

Zairul was accused of indirectly handling the property of an IS member by permitting the deposit of RM10,000 and the withdrawal of RM6,000 from his bank account at a bank in Bandar Seri Alam, Masai, Johor Bahru, between February 2015 and May 2015.

He was charged under Section 130Q(1) of the Penal Code, punishable by imprisonment of up to 20 years or a fine, as well as the forfeiture of any property involved in the offence.

Based on the facts of the case, Zairul was arrested by Bukit Aman’s Counter-Terrorism Special Branch, or E8, in Masai, Johor, following a report concerning suspected terrorist financing.

Investigations revealed that between Feb 25 and May 8, 2015, the accused had conducted transactions from his bank account via a money remittance agent. The funds were bound for a man involved with the IS group.

Deputy public prosecutor Yazid Mustaqim Roslan called for a deterrent sentence befitting the crime.

However Zairul, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a lighter sentence. He expressed remorse to the court and appealed for leniency to support his family.

He said his wife is unemployed and that they have four schoolgoing children. - FMT