The Sessions Court, here, Monday sentenced a man to seven days' jail and fined him RM5,000 for uploading an insulting comment on the death of the late Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah on his Facebook page.

Judge Zainal L.Salleh meted out the punishment on Sheikh Noor Affandi Sh. Ab. Ghani, 40, after he pleaded guilty to committing the offence in September.

The court ordered the accused to serve the jail sentence from yesterday and a further three months if he failed to pay the fine. He paid the fine.

He was charged with committing the offence under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which provides for a fine of up to RM50,000 or a jail term of not more than a year, or both.

Earlier, the accused, who was not represented, pleaded for a light sentence, but deputy public prosecutor Amira Sariaty Zainal asked for a punitive sentence as insulting the royal Institution is a serious offence.

-- BERNAMA