A 22-year-old man was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by the Sessions Court here today after admitting to possessing more than 8,000 pornographic materials, including content involving children, stored on his mobile phone and other electronic devices.
Judge Datin Surita Budin handed down the sentence to Mohamad Saiful Ashraf Jaafar following his guilty plea to the charge. The offence was committed on April 6 at a traffic light junction along Jalan Pajam in Nilai, where authorities discovered explicit images and videos of children on his device.
The court heard that the accused was charged under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM10,000, or both upon conviction. Investigations revealed a total of 8,129 suspected pornographic files, comprising both adult and child sexual abuse materials.
In mitigation, the unrepresented accused pleaded for a lighter sentence, citing his role in assisting his father’s roti canai business and his responsibility of living with and supporting his mother and sister. However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Balkis Zunaidi urged the court to impose a custodial sentence reflective of the seriousness of the offence, while also requesting counselling as part of rehabilitation.
The court ordered the jail term to commence from the date of arrest on April 6 and further instructed the accused to undergo one year of counselling upon completion of his sentence. The judge also expressed hope that the offender would not repeat such actions, noting the importance of rehabilitation alongside punishment.
In a separate case heard in the same court, a 32-year-old hotel chef from Port Dickson also pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse materials and obscene content found in his electronic devices at a residence in Taman Politeknik, Port Dickson, on the same day.
The court was told that the accused had in his possession six explicit videos stored on a pendrive, along with 23 images and 100 obscene videos found in his computer’s central processing unit. He was charged under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 as well as Section 292 of the Penal Code.
In his appeal, the chef sought leniency, citing financial burdens including caring for his wife, father, siblings, and his six-month-old child who suffers from a heart condition. Despite this, the prosecution stressed the gravity of the offence and called for appropriate punishment.
The court sentenced him to five days’ imprisonment from the date of arrest and imposed fines of RM8,000 and RM3,500 for the respective charges. Failure to pay the fines would result in an additional three months’ jail for each offence. He was also ordered to undergo one year of counselling and police supervision after completing his sentence, reflecting continued enforcement against such offences in the country.
