Singaporean man jailed for insulting Islam during e-hailing trip in Johor Bahru

A 56-year-old Singaporean man, Mohamed Anim Atam, has been sentenced to 14 days in jail and fined RM7,000 for insulting Islam during an e-hailing trip in Johor Bahru last month. Mohamed pleaded guilty to the charges before Magistrate A. Shaarmini. The court ordered the sentence to start from the day of his arrest on August 18, or else he would face three months in prison.

The incident happened around 5pm on July 30th, as the accused was a passenger in an e-hailing vehicle traveling from Jalan Tun Razak to Jalan Meldrum. The 29-year-old driver, Muhamad Danial Haikal, overheard Mohamed's comments about the Quran's contents being devoid of compassion and focused only on killing. The driver then uploaded a two-minute and 20-second video of the conversation to social media, which soon went viral.

The driver criticized the passenger's views in the clip and warned him about the sensitivity of his remarks. Mohamed apologized to the driver before leaving the vehicle by the roadside. Mohamed, a security guard in Singapore, was charged under Section 29B, a provision that allows for up to one year's imprisonment, a fine, or both, for intentionally hurting someone's religious feelings through words, sounds, or gestures.

Mohamed's lawyer requested a fine, citing health issues and a divorce, but Deputy Public Prosecutor Eizlan Azhar argued for a proportionate sentence, stating that the offense involved sensitive issues of race, religion, and royalty (3R) and had caused significant public outrage on social media. The case was reported to the police on July 31, and Mohamed was arrested at his home on August 18.