A grass cutter was sentenced to a total of six months’ imprisonment by two separate courts after pleading guilty to possessing 342 pornographic videos, including content involving children, over a period of about 10 years.
At the Magistrate’s Court in Parit, the 42-year-old man was sentenced to six months’ jail after admitting to possessing 341 obscene videos stored in a mobile phone. Magistrate Nurul Izalina Rajaai ordered the sentence to run from the date of conviction.
The accused, a father of two, was charged with possessing the material in an Oppo A35 mobile phone at Belanja Kiri in Perak Tengah at around 12.51pm last Monday. The offence falls under Section 292(a) of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both upon conviction.
During proceedings, the accused, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a custodial sentence instead of a fine, saying he was unable to afford payment and also needed to support his elderly father. He also told the court that he began storing the videos after his divorce in late 2016.
The court was also told to consider the impact of the offence, with the magistrate reminding the accused that his actions could have serious negative consequences, especially as a parent to teenage children aged 16 and 18.
In a separate proceeding at the Ipoh Sessions Court, the same individual was also sentenced to six months’ jail after pleading guilty to possessing a video containing child pornography stored on the same device.
Judge Jean Sharmila Jesudason ordered the sentence to run from the date of arrest on April 6 and imposed three years of police supervision after release, along with mandatory rehabilitation counselling sessions.
He was charged under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM10,000, or both. The prosecution had urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, citing growing concerns over the spread of child sexual abuse material.
The accused, represented by National Legal Aid Foundation counsel M. Kathan, appealed for a shorter jail term, citing his financial responsibilities and low income as a rural worker earning about RM1,800 monthly. The court, however, emphasized the seriousness of the offence and the need for deterrence.
