YEARENDER In its review of terror cases, the Court of Appeal has signalled the message that members and supporters of the Islamic State (IS) or Daesh are to be shown no leniency.
Beginning 2016, it has enhanced substantively the sentences of people aiding the militant group.
The latest case reviewed by the court is that of 38-year-old house builder Muhammad Kasyfullah Kassim, who had been sentenced by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to five years jail for supporting IS terrorists in Syria.
The Court of Appeal on Aug 10 increased the jail term to 12 years.
Judge Ahmadi Asnawi, who headed a three-member bench, said: "We unanimously agree with the prosecution that the sentence imposed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court was inadequate for such a serious offence".
Other IS supporters got it worse.
On June 21, a three-person bench of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Wira Mohtaruddin Baki enhanced the jail term of financial consultant Rohaimi Abd Rahim, 39, and cafe manager Muhamad Fauzi Misrak, 37, who were convicted of soliciting contributions for IS, from three years to 15 years.
Prior to that, on April 25, Justice Mohtaruddin, chairing a three-person bench, increased the jail term of oil palm plantation operator Muamar Gadaffi Mohamad Shafawi, 32, from five years to 15 years for training individuals to participate in terrorist activities.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court seemed to have taken the cue, as shown by the case of policewoman Corporal Jusninawati Abdul Gani, 35, who was found guilty of failing to divulge information on a terrorist group. Judicial Commissioner Nordin Hassan on Dec 6 sentenced her to the maximum seven years jail provided for under Section 130M of the Penal Code.
In the Lahad Datu intrusion case, the Kota Kinabalu High Court on July 26 sentenced nine Filipinos to life imprisonment after finding them guilty of waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The Attorney-General's Chambers has filed an appeal seeking for the death penalty.
'Big fish'
A case which attracted a lot of attention was that of Pandan Member of Parliament Mohd Rafizi Ramli who was charged under the Official Secrets Act in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.
He was found guilty and sentenced on Nov 14 to 18 months jail for unauthorised possession and exposing of confidential government documents on the 1MDB audit report.
This means Mohd Rafizi is disqualified from contesting in the next general election, if it is held in the near future, since the Federal Constitution stipulates that a person cannot stand as a candidate if he receives a sentence of a year, or more, or is fined at least RM2,000.
Nevertheless, Mohd Rafizi retains his position as MP and can attend Dewan Rakyat proceedings until Parliament is dissolved.
The courts have also been dealing with a lot of cases brought up by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission which went for the "big fish".
On March 31, Finance Division secretary of the Youth and Sports Ministry Otman Arsahd, 57, claimed trial in the Sessions Court to 32 charges of abusing his position and submitting false claims for payment involving more than RM38.4 million.
On Sept 7, Bank Rakyat managing director Mustafha Abd Razak, 48, and chairperson Abdul Aziz Zainal, 65, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court to charges of criminal breach of trust and abetment, respectively, involving RM14,991,283.20.
Another headline-grabbing case was that of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and businesswoman Phang Li Koon who were charged with corruption over the purchase of a bungalow below the market value. The High Court has fixed 34 days for the trial in 2017.
On Dec 5, former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim failed to commence qazaf proceedings against his former personal aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
The Syariah Appeals Court dismissed his appeal and review application against the Syariah High Court's refusal of his application to commence qazaf proceedings. The Syariah Appeals Court said the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territory) Act 1997 did not categorise sodomy under qazaf.
According to Section 41 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territory) Act 1997, qazaf is accusing someone of committing 'zina' (illicit sex) without bringing four male witnesses, and if convicted, the person can be jailed for up to three years or fined up to RM5,000, or both.
On Dec 14, The Federal Court dismissed Anwar's review application to set aside his sodomy conviction and five-year jail sentence for sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari after ruling that Anwar's application had no merit and it was not a fit and proper case to be reviewed by the court.
With the ruling, Anwar will remain in Sungai Buloh Prison to serve the jail term. He has been in jail for almost one year and 10 months and is expected to be released by June 2018.
- Bernama
