KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 22: A 34-year-old man was sentenced to six months jail and fined RM12,000 after posting insensitive comments on Facebook concerning the sale of socks bearing the world ‘Allah’.
Chiok Wai Loong pleaded guilty of the offence committed on March 18 before judge Suzana Hussain at the Kuala Lumpur’s Sessions Court today.
Chiok was charged under Section 233(3) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 which carries a jail term of not more than one year and a maximum fine of up to RM50,000, or both, upon conviction.
Should he fail to pay the fine, Chiok will face an additional three months behind bars.
After pleading guilty, Chiok apologised and said that he had no intention to berate Islam, adding that he was just a “keyboard warrior”.
“It has become a hobby for me to surf Facebook and leave comments, I didn’t mean to insult the religion of others.
“As Chinese, we have tattoos of our gods on various parts of our bodies… I thought this (Allah issue) is just a small matter,” he said.
Though Chiok pleaded for a lighter sentence as he did not want to lose his job in order to care for his 63-year-old mother, Deputy Public Prosecutor Datin Kalmizah Salleh pressed for a deterrent sentence.
She said respect and courtesy must never be disregarded as Malaysia is a multi-racial country.
Prior to Chiok’s arrest, another man hailing from Sabah pleaded guilty to a similar charge and was sentenced to the same punishment.
Ricky Shane Cagampang, 33, was charged Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act with misusing network facilities by posting the comment through his Facebook account at 12.05pm on March 17. -TVS
