Singaporean gets 14-day jail sentence for insulting Islam during JB ride-hailing trip

In Johor Bahru, a 56-year-old Singaporean security guard named Mohamed Anim Atam received a 14-day jail term and a RM7,000 fine on August 21. Mohamed Anim admitted to insulting Islam in July. The court sentence, handed down by Shaarmini, started from the date of his arrest on August 18. The magistrate declared the sentence would commence from that day.

The offense occurred around 5:00 p.m. on July 30, when Mohamed Anim was taking a ride-hailing vehicle from Jalan Tun Razak to Jalan Meldrum. He was overheard by the driver, Muhamad Danial Haikal Nadzahakim, 29, making remarks deemed insulting to Islam and the Quran, including the assertion that the Quran lacked compassion. The driver subsequently recorded the comments and shared the video online, which ran over two minutes. The video garnered widespread attention and went viral.

Concerns arose when Muhamad Danial defended Islam and even mentioned he would ask the passenger to leave his vehicle. However, after the incident, Mohamed Anim apologized. On July 31, a police report was filed against him. He was arrested on Tuesday at the Sultan Iskandar Building in Bukit Chagar and charged with intentionally offending the religious sentiments of another person by speaking words insulting Islam under Section 298 of Malaysia’s Penal Code. The Singapore Police aided in Mohamed Anim's apprehension.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Eizlan Azhar requested a fitting sentence for the case, considering the video's viral spread and its religious content—known as the "three R issues" (race, religion, and royalty). Due to his high blood pressure and ongoing divorce proceedings, Mohamed Anim sought a lenient sentence. He explained that his divorce proceedings required him to be present at the Syariah Court in Singapore. A conviction could have resulted in up to one year in prison, a fine, or both.