Malaysian driver jailed for obscene scrawl
A man in Malaysia has found himself in jail for a week, with a hefty fine to pay, after scrawling an obscene word on a traffic ticket.
Police stopped gravestone mason Lim Pei Jye outside the "I Love U" cafe in Jalan Batu Ferringhi, Penang Island, after he'd run a red light, and issued him with a court summons. But the "enraged Mr Lim scrawled an offensive word, referring to one's mother's private parts, on the ticket", reports The Malay Mail. Police officer S Thanesran told a court in George Town, Penang State, that Mr Lim wrote the obscenity in the signature column reserved for acknowledging receipt of a summons. The officer promptly charged the 41-year-old under Section 509 of the Malaysian penal code for "using sounds, gestures or words to insult the modesty of a person".
Defence lawyer Muhammad Arif Shaharuddin said his client was suffering from stress after divorce proceedings, and was sorry for what he'd done. Public Prosecutor Muhammad Hafiz Hashim was unimpressed, arguing instead for a deterrent sentence, as divorce was "no excuse for humiliating a policeman who was just doing his job". Magistrate Dianne Nigrad Nor Azahar agreed, and fined the father of two £944 ($1,500). But he got off lightly with only a week in jail, notes The Malay Mail, as Section 509 carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
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