The appeal was dismissed as the sentence for terrorism-related incitement was found appropriate under the circumstances of the case.

[1] The appellant was charged with committing a terrorism related offence under s 130G (a) of the Penal Code in the High Court. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment from date of arrest. He has appealed against the conviction and sentence to this Court.

Background Facts

[2] The charge preferred against the appellant in the High Court read as follows:

Bahawa kamu di antara 1 April 2018 sehingga 16 Jun 2018 di No 340-1, Kg Pari Bakar Tengah, Jalan Temenggong Ahmad, dalam Daerah Muar, dalam Negeri Johor Darul Ta"zim, dengan pengetahuan telah menggalakkan perbuatan keganasan melalui aplikasi Facebook menggunakan nama akaun "Ah Cong (https://www.facebook.com/ yusoff.almalayzie) yang merupakan satu kesalahan di bawah s 130G(a) Kanun Keseksaan dan boleh dihukum di bawah peruntukan yang sama.

[3] The salient points of the brief facts tendered by the prosecution that was admitted by the appellant without reservation were as follows. The appellant was arrested on 16 July 2018 by police team headed by Insp Mohd Fahmi at Tan Chong Express Auto Servis, No 69-9, Ground Floor, Jalan Sulaiman, Muar, Johore. Police seized an "OPPO" hand phone from him. Later, a "Samsung" hand phone was recovered when police raided his residence. On 1 August 2018, after questioning by the police, he revealed that he owned three Facebook accounts under the name of Mas Yusof, Mas Selamat and Ah Cong. He also disclosed the password for his "OPPO" hand phone and the password for the "Ah Cong" Facebook account. The username for the account was 0129185184. Police investigations revealed that the said phone number was registered under the name of the appellant.

[4] Further investigations by the police revealed that the appellant had been uploading videos and issuing statements inciting or promoting the commission of terrorist acts on the "Ah Cong" Facebook account. This is the subject matter of the charge against him. He had been in communication with local and foreign individuals who were suspected to be involved terrorist activities. He even became acquainted with a known Islamic State (IS) militant by the name of Zilkifli Khir @ Marwan. The said militant was later killed in the Philippines in 2015.

Proceedings In The High Court

[5] After the accused pleaded guilty, the brief facts were read to him. He admitted the facts and was convicted. Before sentence was passed, his counsel submitted a plea in mitigation. The mitigating factors canvassed by counsel for appellant are as follows. The appellant has a wife and three children. He is 42 years old. Prior to his arrest, he worked as a mechanic and was the sole breadwinner. His wife is now working as a cashier to support the family. He is remorseful and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity to save the Court a lot of time and money. This is his first offence. For good measure, counsel for appellant also submitted that the acts of his client which attracted penal consequence were all committed in cyberspace and not in the real world.

[6] The learned Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) urged the Court to impose an appropriate sentence. She drew the attention of the Court to three unreported recent cases where sentences ranging from five years imprisonment to seven years imprisonment were imposed for the same offence.

[7] The learned High Court Judge considered the mitigating factors canvassed by counsel for appellant. However, she also weighed the public interest in the balance as the appellant had committed the serious offence of