P-hailing rider gets jail and fine for bomb hoax call

IPOH: A 38-year-old p-hailing rider pleaded guilty in a Magistrate’s Court here Wednesday (Aug 30) to making a false bomb threat last week.

Magistrate S Punitha then ordered Mohammad Nasriq Samsudin to serve a day in jail and fined him RM4,000 in default five months’ jail on Wednesday (Aug 30).

The charge, framed under Section 507 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation by anonymous communication, provides imprisonment for up to two years upon conviction.

Mohammad Nasriq was said to have called a shopping mall’s employee and said that a bomb would explode on the premises at 4.15pm on Aug 23.

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He was arrested at 9.30pm on the same day.

When asked by the magistrate why he made the call, Mohammad Nasriq said it was meant to be a joke.

“I was only joking. I didn’t know that it was wrong to make the call,” he said.

DPP Muhammad Fahmi Kamaluddin requested jail time in view of the seriousness of the case.

“The call had caused frustration among the mall employees and visitors.

“A jail punishment will (be) a lesson to the accused,” he said.

Lawyer Siti Hajar Hamzah, who represented the accused, said her client was truly sorry for what happened.

“His parents who are present today told me that in 2022 he had received treatment at the Ulu Kinta Psychiatric Hospital.

“Due to his medical history, he has been unable to get a permanent job so he is now a part-time delivery driver and earns between RM20 and RM30 a day,” she said.

Siti Hajar urged the court to impose a minimal fine as this was her client’s first offence.

“Since the day he was arrested, my client has given his full cooperation throughout the investigation. He was also released earlier on police bail,” she said, adding that the accused is not married and lives with his parents.