The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today sentenced a 35-year-old man to six months in jail and fined him RM12,000 for posting offensive Facebook comments, poking fun at the Allah socks controversy.
Chiok Wai Loong, who is a social application technician, pled guilty to the charge, which was read to him before judge Suzana Hussin.
He was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588).
Should Chiok fail to pay the fine, Judge Suzana said he would have to serve another three months in prison.
Chiok, who was not represented, admitted to making the offensive comments on Facebook and apologised, saying he did not do it on purpose.
“I posted the comments only as a ‘keyboard warrior’, I didn’t do it on purpose.
“It has become a hobby for me to surf Facebook and post comments, I didn’t mean to insult the religion of others.
“I thought it was only a small matter. I didn’t know it would be this serious,” he said while holding back his tears.
He pleaded for leniency in court today, expressing concerns that he will lose his job and the need to care for his 63-year-old mother.
“As Chinese, we have necklaces and anklets as well tattoos of our gods on various parts of our bodies... I thought this (Allah socks issue) is just a small matter,” Chiok added.
However, deputy public prosecutor Kalmizah Salleh asked the court to impose a heavy sentence by arguing that matters pertaining to religious issues cannot be belittled.
“The post made was insensitive to Muslims. Malaysia is made up of many religions, one cannot simply be disrespectful.
“The post in this case specifically refers to Muslims where there have been 24 police reports lodged (on this matter) and it shows the seriousness of the case as well as the impact of the posting,” Kalmizah said.
Chiok was arrested by the police on Wednesday (March 20).
Doxxed on social media
On March 18, Chiok uploaded a post, joking that the socks with the word “Allah” printed on them should be welcomed as it meant the person wearing it has Allah’s protection “from head to feet”.
He also edited a photo of blue socks with his face on them and quipped that this meant he had insulted himself.
Previously, Chiok apologised after being confronted by an influencer silat instructor and his friends. His personal details were also circulated across social media.
Similarly, in Kota Kinabalu, a Muslim convert was sentenced to six months in jail and fined RM15,000 for posting an offensive Facebook comment about Islam in relation to the Allah socks scandal.
Ricky Shane Cagampang yesterday pled guilty to the charge under Section 233(1)(a) of the Multimedia and Communication Act.
The 33-year-old, who did not have a lawyer, admitted to making the offensive comments on the New Straits Times’ Facebook page but said he deleted it two or three minutes later.
The Borneo Post reported that he pleaded for leniency and pledged not to repeat the offence.
He also noted that he has been a Muslim convert since 2021 and this was his first criminal offence. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.