Judge Zaman Mohd Noor handed the sentence to former crane operator Muhammad Amirul Helmy Hisham after he pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA).
Amirul had claimed trial in December last year to the charge of improper use of network facilities by knowingly making and initiating the transmission of offensive communications against Najib with the intention of annoying others through his Facebook account “Amirul Helmy” on Nov 18, 2016.
According to the facts of the case, he had shared a video of Najib and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte singing “Shalala” during a dinner function two years ago.
He also posted vulgar words in a caption accompanying the video with the hashtag #NajibRazak.
Amirul’s Facebook post was read by an individual, Hamdan Mohd Salleh, on Feb 17 last year who then lodged a report with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
MCMC subsequently went to Amirul’s former workplace in Port Klang and raided the office. His handphone, SIM card and SD card were confiscated.
During mitigation, Amirul asked the court not to impose a harsh sentence as he was unemployed and would not be able to pay a hefty fine.
“I was told to quit (from my job) because of my court case,” he said.
However, MCMC’s deputy public prosecutor Mohd Sophian Zakaria asked the court to impose a harsh sentence on Amirul as he had intentionally posted an offensive Facebook post.
“Posting offensive statements online seems to be a norm nowadays and the government is looking seriously into it,” he said.