In JB, draughtsman claims trial to sending offensive and obscene text and pictures
JOHOR BARU, March 28 — A 39-year-old draughtsman was charged in the Sessions Court here today with sending obscene text messages and pictures that insulted Islam from a social media account last year.
The accused Muhammad Firdaus Embong pled not guilty after the four charges were read out before Judge Datuk Che Wan Zaidi Che Ibrahim.
According to the charge sheets, the accused sent pictures and texts four times to a bank with the intention of hurting people's feelings between March 17 and August 18, 2022 through a Facebook account under the name ‘Firdaus Embong’.
The pictures and text messages were seen by an unnamed recipient at a bank in Kulai on September 14 last year.
The four charges were under Section 233 (1)(A) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which criminalises the publication and dissemination online of communication that is considered obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person.
The accused faces a fine of up to RM50,000 or a maximum imprisonment of one year, or both, if convicted.
Fazril Sani Mohamed Fadzil and Mai Zairani Zainal Abidin prosecuted the case and offered RM40,000 bail for all charges.
Muhammad Firdaus was not represented, but sought for a lower bail amount of RM10,000.
The judge set bail at RM20,000 with one surety and scheduled May 15 for the accused’s next court appearance.
