PETALING JAYA-An engineer was fined RM6,000 by the Sessions Court here today for selling pornographic pictures of women for RM100 through the Telegram application.
Judge Norshila Kamaruddin passed the sentence on Mohd. Azri Zahari, 34, as the Defendant after he pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
If the Defendant fails to pay the amount of the fine, he can be jailed for another six months and also still has to pay the fine.
According to the charge, the defendant was accused of using the Telegram application of the account "Minister Pasola" had knowingly provided pornographic communication for commercial purposes to a man on March 4, 2019 at 8.21 pm at a house in Bandar Sunway here. .
Following that, the charge was submitted in accordance with Section 233 (2) (a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (act 588) which can be punished under Section 233 (3) of the same act.
The punishment for the section provides for a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment for a maximum of one year or both upon conviction.
*photo for illustration purposes only
Earlier, lawyer Syed Amirul Syed Edros, who represented the defendant, asked the court to impose a minimum fine on the grounds that the defendant had repented of what he had done and promised not to repeat the act again.
The defendant, who is also a widower, works as an engineer. He is also the main breadwinner of his family and chose to plead guilty because he wanted to save time, said the lawyer.
During the proceedings, the judge asked whether the defendant sold the pornographic pictures to increase income, the defendant's lawyer replied no, because at the time of the incident, his client was under pressure due to domestic problems.
However, Prosecuting Officer from the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Nazrul Hizam Mohd. Zameri asked the court to impose a fine commensurate with the fact that selling the nudes were like selling the woman's self-esteem.
Before the sentence was handed down, the judge advised the defendant to repent of what he had done.
"The court gives you a chance to repent, if there is a second offense the punishment will be higher," said the judge.
