Cemar Al-Quran: Lelaki dipenjara 12 bulan, denda RM250,000

A man was sentenced to 12 months in prison and fined RM250,000 by the Kuantan High Court for desecrating the Quran to teach a lesson to the accused and to warn the general public, according to a report from Bernama. On February 22nd, S Vikneswaran, a 21-year-old university graduate, was arrested for defiling the Quran and uploading a picture of the act on social media.

The judge, Harmi Thamri Mohamad, handed down the sentence after Vikneswaran pleaded guilty to two charges. The court ordered the imprisonment to start from the date of the judgment (November 12th) and stated that the man will serve an additional 12 months in prison if he fails to pay the fine. The judge explained that the sentence is not only meant to teach a lesson to the accused but also to serve as a warning to the general public against committing similar acts.

Vikneswaran's lawyer, Amirull Afiqq Lokman, requested a stay on the imprisonment until an appeal was filed, citing his client's need to attend psychiatric treatment. However, the prosecution opposed the request as there was no special circumstance warranting the postponement. As a result, the man began serving his prison sentence starting yesterday.

The offense involved defiling a sacred object, the Quran, with the intention of undermining the religion in Gambang Street, Taman Seri Mahkota, around 1:30 pm on February 22nd. The man was accused of committing this act based on Section 295 of the Penal Code, which prescribes imprisonment for up to two years or a fine or both. In the second charge, Vikneswaran was accused of knowingly posting a malicious communication through his Threads account “ryandaselva” with the intent to cause hurt to others.

The charges were brought under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act, and could result in a fine of up to RM500,000 or imprisonment for up to two years or both. A fine of RM5,000 was also imposed for each day the offense continued after the initial warning. According to the facts of the case, the incident came to light after Vikneswaran's father, who appeared as the appellant in the court proceedings, was contacted by his daughter on February 24th.

She informed him about a video that Ventura had posted on Threads showing the accused's act. The father then contacted Vikneswaran regarding the video and Vikneswaran admitted to the father that the video was indeed his. He was subsequently arrested on February 25th. Social media analysis and telecommunications company reports confirmed that Vikneswaran's account and phone number used in the offense belonged to him and his family.