JOHOR BAHRU, 8 January - A food trader was fined RM3,000 by the Sessions Court here after pleading guilty to sending offensive messages against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on social media last December.

The decision was made by Judge Hazeelia Muhammad after the accused, Zaidi Mat Sah, 55, pleaded guilty to the charges against him.

The court also ordered the accused to be jailed for six months if he fails to pay the fine.

The accused was earlier charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 with publishing offensive comments on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

According to the charge sheet, he was found to have published an offensive statement when he made a post on the X application through his BitZ@zatocent account.

The offence was committed at a house in Taman Sutera here, at 5.45 am.

According to the facts of the case, on 29 December, 2024, the accused made the posting in question which involved seditious statements and touched upon the 3Rs, namely by insulting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and thus, tarnishing the image and name of the royal institution.

A check of the mobile phone found the account was used by the accused, while social media intelligence analysis by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) showed the account belonged to the accused.

Johor prosecution director Abdul Ghafar Ab Latif appeared for the prosecution, while the accused was unrepresented.