SEPANG — An elderly man was fined RM30,000 by the Sessions Court here today for uploading an offensive post on Facebook about the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers.
Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman meted out the fine, in default of six months in jail, on Johari Ismail, 67, who pleaded guilty to the charge, Bernama reports.
He was charged with knowingly using Facebook to initiate the transmission of offensive communication with the intention of annoying others. The post was seen at the office of the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) at Tower 1, Jalan Impact, Cyberjaya, at 12.59 pm, last Feb 9.
The charge was framed under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which is punishable under Section 233 (3) of the same law.
The law provides a fine of not more than RM50,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year or both and a further RM1,000 fine for each day the offence continues if convicted.
The prosecution was handled by MCMC Deputy Public Prosecutor Faten Hadni Khairuddin while the accused, who has four children, was unrepresented.
Earlier, it was reported that the man was arrested after failing to appear in court to face charges.
The MCMC in a statement said it collaborated with the police to carry out the arrest at 11pm last night in Kuala Lumpur after a warrant was issued by the Sepang sessions court judge.
The man failed to attend a court hearing scheduled for yesterday. – February 25, 2025