A 21-year-old former Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) student has been sentenced to 12 months in prison and fined RM250,000 after pleading guilty to desecrating the Quran and publishing offensive content online.
The Sessions Court ordered S. Vikneswaran to begin his jail term immediately after dismissing an application by his lawyer, Muhammad Amirull Afiqq Mohamad Lokman, to suspend the execution of the sentence.
Judge Harmi Thamri Mohamad ruled that there were no special circumstances to justify delaying the jail term.
Vikneswaran was also fined RM250,000 for publishing offensive content online. He faces an additional 12 months in prison if he fails to pay the fine.
State prosecution director Mohd Sabri Othman conducted the prosecution, assisted by deputy public prosecutor Fathin Nadhirah Kasim.
Vikneswaran had initially pleaded not guilty to both charges in March, with his trial scheduled to begin yesterday. However, he changed his plea to guilty when the case came up for hearing.
The first charge involved desecrating the Quran, an object held sacred by Muslims, with the intention of insulting Islam and offending the religious feelings of others. The offence falls under Section 295 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of two years, a fine, or both.
For the second charge, he admitted to using Threads to create and transmit grossly offensive communications with the intention of annoying others. Under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, the offence carries a maximum fine of RM500,000, up to two years’ imprisonment, or both, with an additional RM5,000 fine for every day the offence continues.
Both offences took place at a house in Taman Seri Mahkota Aman at about 1.30pm on February 22.
Vikneswaran was arrested on February 25 following a social media post that allegedly touched on sensitive issues involving race, religion and royalty (3R). Police also seized a Quran from his bedroom.
According to the case facts, his sister alerted their father after discovering a social media post showing Vikneswaran stepping on the Quran inside his bedroom. His father subsequently confronted him and lodged a police report, becoming the complainant in the case.
Investigations found that Vikneswaran had acted out of frustration over comments containing racial slurs on Threads. He admitted that he had used his mobile phone to record and share the act online to hurt the feelings of others. The phone line was registered under his mother’s name.
Before being charged, Vikneswaran and his father had issued apologies over his actions.
Separately, UMPSA’s student disciplinary committee expelled him on March 24 after finding him guilty of disciplinary offences involving sensitive matters related to race, religion and royalty.
