A MECHANIC was fined RM3,000 by the Seremban Sessions Court today, after he pleaded guilty to sending an obscene WhatsApp message to a female acquaintance eight years ago.

Judge Mohd Sabri Ismail meted out the punishment on Muhammad Faiz Zaini, 35, and ordered him to serve three months in jail if he failed to pay the fine. He paid the fine.

Faiz was charged with making and initiating the transmission of obscene communications with intent to offend others at 5.15pm on April 14, 2014, at a place in Tanjung Agas, Port Dickson.

The charge, framed under section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, provides for a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to one year, or both, and shall also be liable to a further fine of RM1,000 for every day during which the offence is committed after conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Fazril Sani Mohamed Fadzil, prosecuted while Faiz was unrepresented. – Bernama, January 26, 2022.