PUTRAJAYA, April 15 — An Indonesian national and two Malaysian ex-soldiers were sentenced to 12 years jail and eight years jail, respectively, by the Court of Appeal today for conspiring to promote terrorism.
Indonesian Ali Saifuddin, a technician with a Malaysian permanent resident status, was sentenced to 12 years jail, while the two Malaysians, Nor Azmi Jailani and Mohd Yusri Mohamed Yusof, were sentenced to eight years’ jail each.
A three-member panel comprising Justices Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Datuk Zabidin Mohd Diah and Datuk Has Zanah Mehat ordered the three men to serve the jail sentences from the date of the arrest, which was April 5, 2015.
The panel found Ali, 31, Nor Azmi, 32 and Mohd Yusri, 32, guilty last April 8 to a charge with conspiring to promote terrorism related activities in Malaysia between January 30 and April 6, 2015 at a house in Pengkalan Batu Hampar, Mukim Air Putih, Pendang in Kedah and had set today for mitigation and sentencing.
According to evidence led in the High Court, the three were said to have participated in a series of discussions with a son of a former Islamic State (IS) militant on plans to kidnap four former ministers, including former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in exchange for the release of Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) detainees.
The other former ministers were former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, former minister of defence Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and former youth and sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
The son of a former Islamic State (IS) militant, Abu Daud Murad Halimmuddin, is serving a 12-year jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiring to promote terrorism, while his father, Murad Halimmuddin Hassan, was sentenced to 18 years’ jail.
However, it was reported that Murad Halimmuddin died of heart complication in 2017.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Zain Ibrahim, who prosecuted, pressed for Ali, Nor Azmi, and Mohd Yusri to be sentenced to 25 years’ jail each, saying that the offence they committed, including using Islam for their own personal interest, was serious as their action could affect innocent people.
He said a deterrent jail sentence should be imposed to reflect the seriousness of the offence.
Lawyers Louis Liaw Vern Xien, Farida Mohammad and Quratulain Atiqah Norzahirul Anuar,, representing Ali, Nor Azmi and Mohd Yusri, respectively, pleaded for lesser jail sentence to be imposed considering that their clients did not play the main role to initiate the plan.
Liaw said it was Abu Daud’s idea to initiate the plan to steal firearms and kidnapping.
He said no evidence that the plan was carried out and therefore there was no loss of life and property.
On April 8, this year, the Court of Appeal allowed the prosecution’s appeal to set aside the High Court’s decision to acquit the trio on the charge. — Bernama
