Court orders psych test for Facebook user jailed 10 years for insulting Islam

Desmond Davidson Desmond Davidson Updated 7 years ago · Published on 13 Mar 2019 10:10AM · 5 Comments

Alister Cogia (right) seen at the Kuching Court Complex today handcuffed to a prison warden after the hearing of his application to be referred to the Kota Sentosa psychiatric hospital for evaluation. The court has ordered Cogia to undergo psychiatric evaluation after lawyers argued that he has mental issues. – The Malaysian Insight pic, March 13, 2019.

THE 22-year-old youth sentenced to 10 years’ jail and a RM50,000 fine for insulting Islam on Facebook has been ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation by the Kuching High Court.

Judge Azahari Kamal Ramli today ordered Alister Cogia to undergo a month of evaluation at the Kota Sentosa hospital after his lawyers argued that their client has a psychiatric problem.

The court hearing today was for Alister to apply for a revision of the sessions court’s proceedings and his sentence.

The youth, whose Facebook username was “Ayea Yea”, was ordered to appear in court for further mention on April 16.

The application for revision was filed with a statutory declaration made by Alister’s mother Alen Rijod and his uncle Waddle Rumen.

A team of PKR lawyers, headed by Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How, is helping Alister with the review of the court’s proceedings and sentence handed down last Friday.

Alister had been unrepresented. See said Alister was not informed ahead of time that he was required to be in court last Friday, which caused him to appear without a lawyer.

The lawyers are also arguing that the jail term and fine are excessive.

See said his team, comprising Francis Teron, Desmond Kho and Jeffery Mok, are unsure if the lower court had taken into account Alister’s psychiatric condition.

They have doubts as to whether Alister understood the gravity of the charges and significance of his guilty plea.

Alister’s mother, meanwhile, said her son had suffered from mental illness since young.

The second of five children, Alister dropped out of school after Form One, she said.

The family had tried to bring him to a hospital for a psychiatric examination last month but he became agitated and refused to go.

See said the application to argue against the excessive sentence would now depend on the psychiatric report. – March 13, 2019.

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Comments

  • no need mental check up lah . send him to jail

    Posted 7 years ago by ANUAR JAMALUDIN · Reply

    • Why ??? he has no rights is it ?? Only Zakir Naik is given free will and licence to insult other religion ???? Apa punya otak lah you ????. Typical !!!!!

      Posted 7 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

    • If this standard of meting out justice is fairly practised, almost half of Umno and PAS leaders would be either in jail or at Tampoi/Tanjung Rambutan.

      Posted 7 years ago by Simple Sulaiman · Reply

    • Agree.

      Posted 7 years ago by Tam Yan Cheng · Reply

  • 10 years to punish a mischievous act? Kids, you heard that?

    Posted 7 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply