A 19-year-old labourer convicted on 14 counts of insulting the Johor crown prince last year has failed to reduce his two years detention sentence at the Henry Gurney correctional institute in Malacca.

The Court of Appeal today unanimously dismissed Muhammad Amirul Azwan Mohd Shakri's appeal. The teenager from Tumpat, Kelantan had already spent four months at the institute and another three months in jail.

Justice Mohd Zawawi Mohd Salleh, who led the panel dismissed the appeal brought by lawyer Hassan Karim, to have his sentence remitted to a bond of good behaviour or that his parents pay a personal bond for good behaviour.

“We are unanimous and think that the High Court is lenient and right in changing his sentence from jail to spending time at the institute. The appeal is dismissed,” said the judge.

The other judges were Justice Ahmadi Asnawi and Kamardin Hashim.

In June last year, Amirul pleaded guilty to charges of insulting Tengku Mahkota Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and was handed a one year jail sentence.

However, the Johor Bahru High Court, in exercising its revisionary role, had changed the sentence in September to keep him away from adult inmates and placed him at the Henry Gurney correctional institute until he was 21-years-old.

Hassan had earlier submitted that having Amirul spend time at Henry Gurney was unsuitable and that the appellant regretted his actions and was remorseful.

“He is prepared to apologise to the Crown prince and give an undertaking that he would not repeat such offence,” the lawyer said.

Deterrent sentence

However, Justice Zawawi asked if Amirul had apologised, to which Hassan replied his client was not given an opportunity to do so.

“Amirul was not represented at the Sessions Court where he pleaded guilty and although we appeared for him at the High Court and he is prepared to apologise the court did not give him an opportunuty.

“This was despite the crown prince expressing his willingness to hear the apology,” he said.

DPP Mohd Zain Ibrahim, told the court that it has to send the right message to the public as Amirul had authored offending material.

Justice Ahmadi interjected and said Amirul had authored content that was unbecoming of a youth his age.

After court proceedings, Hassan said this was Amirul's final appeal and he respected the court's decision but had hoped the court would grant him a bond of good behaviour as he comes from a poor family and he is repentent.

“He has spent three months in jail prior to the case being called at the High Court,” he said, adding that his client will reach 21 years of age in 17 months.

Hassan added that Amirul is now re-taking his SPM exams at the correctional institute.

Previously, some lawyers had expressed that the sentence handed to Amirul was excessive.

Other critics pointed that there was once a similar case where former Malacca chief minister Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik was charged for insulting Selangor crown prince Tengku Amir Shah, but got away with a RM1,900 fine.