Restaurant helper gets two years' jail for trying to support militant group

A restaurant helper was sentenced to two years' imprisonment by the High Court here today after he pleaded guilty to attempting to provide support to the Daish terrorist group two years ago.

Justice Datuk Mohamad Shariff Abu Samah passed down the sentence on Muhammad Fadhil Ibrahim, 25, and ordered the sentence to run from the date of arrest on Oct 13, 2014.

Mohamad Shariff said apart from his age and educational background, the court also took into consideration public interest which condemned terrorism.

The judge also advised Muhammad Fadhil to be remorseful for what he had committed and hoped the prison sentence would serve as a lesson for him to achieve a more promising and fruitful future.

Muhammad Fadhil allegedly tried to support IS, now known as the Daish militant group by purchasing an Air Emirates flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Istanbul, Turkey, to enter Syria via Istanbul for the benefit of the terrorist group.

He was charged with committing the offence at Restoran Hakim Sdn Bhd, Jalan Zikron E7/E, Seksyen 7, Shah Alam on Oct 13, 2014, at 10.50 pm, according to Section 130J(1)(a) of the Penal Code which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years or fines and forfeiture of any property used or intended to be used for committing the offence.

According to the facts of the case, the accused joined Harakah Islam Malaysia (HIM) in Bangi, Selangor in 2010 which exposed him to jihad and urged followers to migrate to Negara Islam Indonesia (NII), by that time the accused had attended two talks which were in 2010 and 2012.

In 2014 the accused along with his friend, Muhammad Na'eem Apandi agreed to raise funds to go to Syria to join the Daesh militant group.

They were later introduced to two individuals to get them employment as a cook and a crew in a restaurant.

In August 2014, the accused was introduced to a man named Rohaimi Abdul Rahim with the purpose of getting information on the unrest in Syria, subsequently several meetings took place between the accused and other individuals until the end of September 2014 when the accused received an envelope containing a sum of RM7,500 to purchase air tickets to Syria.

On Sept 26 2014, Muhammad Fadhil bought an Air Emirates EK347 flight ticket online to travel from KLIA to Dubai on Oct 15, 2014 at 4.30pm and to take a Dubai-Istanbul flight EK121 on Oct 16 2014 at 4.05pm.

The accused paid RM2,483 for the two-way travel.

He was later arrested with Rohaimi, and several other individuals during a meeting at Restoran Hakim Sdn Bhd.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Noor Svetlana Mohd Noor Nordin urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence as a lesson to the public.

Counsel Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi representing Muhammad Fadhil in mitigation said as this was the accused's first offence and in view of his age he should be given a chance.