Teen suspect in planned beer fest attack pleads guilty to bomb possession

A teenager, who was suspected to be involved in a planned attack on the cancelled Better Beer Festival 2017, pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing two bombs at the Kota Bharu Sessions Court today.

The accused, Muhamad Hafizi Mat Jusoh, 19, was supposed to be sitting for his STPM examinations tomorrow.

Aside from possession of bombs, he also faces four other charges related to involvement in extremist groups.

After the charges were read out, the teenager pleaded guilty to possessing two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) when he was arrested at a residence in Kampung Merkang, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan on Oct 10.

This comes under Section 8 of the Firearms Act 1971, which deals with the unlawful possession of firearms. If convicted, Muhamad Hafizi could face up to 14 years' jail and a minimum of six lashings.

The other four charges came under Section 130F of the Penal Code, which pertains to the provision of training and instruction to terrorist groups and persons committing terrorist acts, as well as Section 130J, on soliciting or giving support to terrorist groups, or for the commission of terrorist acts.

However, no plea was recorded for these charges. The accused, a student of a Pasir Puteh school, merely nodded his head in acknowledgement when these charges were read out.

Muhamad Hafizi appeared calm while he was brought to the court lock-up, along with the other two suspects, Ahmad Azmi Ahmad Rosli, 24, and Mahadi Ibrahim, 34, who face three and two charges related to terrorist activities respectively.

Ahmad Azmi and Mahadi nodded in acknowledgement of their charges, and did not enter any pleas.

The deputy public prosecutor handling the case is Muhammad Fadzlan Mohd Noor and the judge has fixed the mention for Dec 6.

The Better Beer Festival 2017 was initially planned for early October in Kuala Lumpur, but came under public scrutiny after a PAS leader said it would encourage “vice activities” and lead to reprisals from extremists.

The event was later cancelled after the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) refused to greenlight the event, citing “political sensitivities.”

Shortly after that, the inspector-general of police (IGP) Mohamad Fuzi Harun also revealed the police had received information that certain quarters were planning to cause chaos at the event.- Mkini