KUCHING: A man who admitted to tearing and scattering several pages of the holy Quran onto a roadway after allegedly hearing whispers from the devil was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment by the Magistrate’s Court today.
Mohamad Jais Yusuf, 57, pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 295 of the Penal Code, which was read before Magistrate Nursyaheeqa Nazwa Radzali.
If convicted, the offence carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
He committed the offence by the roadside along Jalan Borneo here at about 8.40 pm on Jan 23.
According to the facts of the case, the complainant, who is a village headman, lodged a police report after being disturbed by a video clip circulating on Facebook.
The clip showed fragments of pages from a Quran scattered on the road near several hotels along Jalan Borneo.
The accused’s actions were confirmed through checks on closed-circuit television (CCTV) recordings from two nearby hotels and were also witnessed by members of the public who saw him discarding the torn pages.
Further investigation revealed that the accused admitted to committing the act after hearing whispers in his ear telling him to tear the holy book.
He also does not possess any Persons with Disabilities (OKU) card or mental health card.
Additionally, when he was arrested last Monday (Jan 26), an initial urine screening tested positive for drugs.
The prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor, Muhammad Afiq Safly Nor Kazly, while the accused was unrepresented by counsel.
