KUALA LUMPUR: A gardener who had been jailed twice under the Security Offences (Special Measure) Act 2012 claimed trial at the High Court today to charges of supporting the Islamic State and possessing items related to the terrorist group in December last year.
Muhammad Sani Mahdi Sahar, 31, made his plea before judge Datuk Noorin Badaruddin. His case was transferred from the Muar Sessions Court, where he was charged in July but no plea was recorded.
Deputy public prosecutor Siti Hajar Mat Radzi said today was the case's first mention following the transfer.
On the first charge, the father of one was accused of supporting IS through a Facebook page under the name of "Abu Ibrahim" in Arabic, later changed to "Oyen Ucuk".
The offence, under Section 130J(1) (a) of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to 40 years or a fine, and property used to commit the offence could be seized upon conviction.
He committed the alleged offence at 9am at the E8 Division Counter Terrorism Special Branch, Level 24, Menara 2, Bukit Aman federal police headquarters on Dec 19 last year.
On the second charge, he was charged with possessing three blurred images with captions expressing loyalty to Abu Hafsah Al-Hasimi Al-Quroshi, the fifth IS leader.
On the third charge, he was alleged to have possessed a picture to commemorate a militant incident linked to IS, which took place in Mozambique in 2020.
Both offences were committed at 8pm on March 26 and 9.16pm on April 30 on the same Facebook page at the same location.
The charges, under Section 130JB (1) (a) of the Penal Code, carry a maximum jail term of seven years or a fine, and property used in the offenced could be seized.
Defence lawyer Asiah Abd Jalil stood for Muhammad Sani.
The court set Nov 19 for mention.