KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia – A Filipino man was charged at the magistrate’s court here with recruiting Islamic State (IS) terrorists and possessing a fake Malaysian MyKad (identity card).
No plea was recorded from Nurhan Sahi Hakim, 32, who hails from Zamboanga in the Philippines, for the charge of knowingly recruiting another person into an IS terrorists group at the arrival hall of the Kota Kinabalu International airport (KKIA) on Jan 13, this year.
The offence, under Section 130E of the Penal Code, is punishable by imprisonment of up to 30 years and a fine upon conviction.
Magistrate Jessica Ombou Kakayun fixed March 8, for the case to be mention pending forensic report. No bail was offered.
However, Nurhan was sentenced to 30 months jail and fined RM1,000 in default three months jail for possessing a fake Malaysian MyKad.
Magistrate Kakayun also ordered him to be referred to the Immigration Department after serving his sentence.
Nurhan had earlier admitted possessing a fake MyKad under the name of one Yusop Attang at 4:15 p.m. on January 13 at the arrival hall of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).
Based on the facts of the case, Nurhan was arrested by police from E8 Counter Terrorism Department under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) on that date and time.
A body search, produced the MyKad.
It was confirmed that the MyKad was a fake because the picture and the address did not match the ones in the NRD’s system.
In mitigation, Nurhan asked for the court consideration to impose a lenient sentence as he had a two-year-old child and elderly parents to support.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Hafizah Zahidah Abdullah, however, argued for a deterrent sentence.