KUCHING: A 19-year-old teenager was ordered by the Sessions Court here today to be detained at the Henry Gurney School until he reaches the age of 21 for possessing and engaging in the distribution of child pornography using his smartphone last April.
Judge Musli Ab Hamid handed down the order after accepting the youthful offender’s admission and considering the probation report, recommendations from court advisors, as well as submissions from the prosecution.
Pursuant to Section 26(1) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, the accused was also ordered to undergo rehabilitative counselling throughout his detention at the Henry Gurney School.
The court further ordered that he be placed under police supervision at the Bau police station for a period of two years upon his release from the Henry Gurney School.
In addition, the administrator of the Henry Gurney School here was directed to ensure that the youthful offender completes his STPM examination during his period of detention.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Marvind Kaliyani.
Earlier, the accused pleaded guilty to two offences under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (SOACA).
For the first charge under Section 8 of SOACA, he was accused of participating in a business involving child pornography on April 7.
The offence carries a penalty of up to 15 years’ imprisonment and whipping of up to three strokes upon conviction.
The second charge, under Section 10 of SOACA, relates to possession of child pornography in a smartphone, which occured on the same day.
The offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to RM10,000, or both.
In April, police arrested the accused in Bau after discovering 936 obscene videos and 4,035 pornographic images on his mobile phone.
Bau police chief Supt Mohd Haide A. Rahman said the suspect was detained at a house in Kampung Seromah during a special operation dubbed “Op Cyber Guardian”, conducted by the Sexual, Women and Children Investigation Division (D11) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Sarawak Police Contingent Headquarters.
“Preliminary checks on the suspect’s mobile phone and laptop uncovered hundreds of videos and thousands of pornographic images,” he said in a statement.
He added that the suspect admitted to selling the materials as a source of income.
Police believe the accused used electronic devices and social media platforms to access, store and distribute the illicit materials.
