TAWAU: A truck driver was sentenced to 360 hours of community service by the magistrate's court on Monday after pleading guilty to causing public alarm by joking about a bomb last July.
Sabrie Nulsarie, 39, made the plea as the charge was read to him before magistrate Don Stiwin Malanjum.
The court ordered the accused to perform four hours of community service daily over a period of three months, with a bond set at RM1,000 along with a local surety.
According to the charge, the father of five allegedly caused public fear by saying "there might be a bomb" at the departure hall of Tawau Airport (LTT) at around 3:15pm on July 15.
He was charged under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.
The prosecution was led by Assistant Superintendent Nur Intan Jamrin, while the accused was represented by Jhessary P Kang from the National Legal Aid Foundation.
Earlier, Jhessary appealed for a lenient sentence, citing that the accused has five young children and that his guilty plea saved the court time and cost.
According to the facts of the case, while undergoing a security check at the departure hall, the accused allegedly joked, saying, "there might be a bomb" in the bag of a Chinese female passenger being inspected by auxiliary police officers.
However, a subsequent inspection found nothing suspicious in the passenger's luggage, and the accused was arrested for further investigation due to causing public alarm.