Jobless Kuching man jailed one month for damaging copies of Quran

KUCHING (Oct 23): An unemployed man was sentenced to one month in jail by the Magistrates’ Court here today for damaging copies of the Quran last month.

Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan convicted Abdul Ismail Saili, 29, on his own guilty plea to a charge under Section 292 of the Penal Code.

The Section provides for up to two years in prison, a fine, or both, upon conviction.

He committed the offence around 8.30am on Sept 17 at Jalan Setia Raja, next to a mosque in Kampung Tabuan Hilir.

According to the facts of the case, a man who was the mosque chairman was informed by his nephew that Abdul Ismail had thrown the Quran into a drain in front of the mosque.

The complainant then found eight copies of the Quran were missing from the mosque.

He discovered several copies of the Quran, which belonged to the mosque, in the drain.

A police report was filed and Abdul Ismail was arrested.

The police investigation revealed that Abdul Ismail had damaged the Quran with the knowledge that others might view the act as an insult to the religion.

There were eyewitnesses who took photos of the incident and confirmed seeing Abdul Ismail tearing, burning, and throwing copies of the Quran into the drain.

In addition, the investigation found that the complainant was distressed by the incident, given that the Quran is the holy book of Muslims, and as a Muslim, the complainant felt ashamed by Abdul Ismail’s actions.

The case facts revealed that there was no medical documentation or report confirming that Abdul Ismail was mentally unstable or suffering from a mental illness.

However, a preliminary urine test on Abdul Ismail tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine.

Insp Nur Ain Wong was the prosecuting office, while Abdul Ismail did not have legal representation.