Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali meted out the sentence on Mohammed Ekhsan Sulaiman, 24, after he pleaded guilty to planning the attacks at Jalan Tun Ali, Kampung Bunga Paya Pantai, Melaka.

The father of two was charged with committing the offence at a house on Jalan Bertam Jaya 12, Taman Bertam Jaya, Melaka, between Aug 12 and 25 this year.

The charge, framed under Section 130JD (1) of the Penal Code, provides for a jail term of up to seven years and is liable to a fine, if convicted.

The court also ordered the accused to serve his sentence from the date of arrest on Aug 25.

Nazlan, in his judgement, said the court viewed the offence committed by the accused as serious and if not kept in check, could encourage him to produce more bombs which would endanger the public.

According to the facts of the case, the accused created a “Ar-Rayah Member” WhatsApp group chat in mid-August. He discussed carrying out a bomb attack around Jalan Tun Ali, Kampung Bunga Paya Pantai, in Melaka.

The accused, who was arrested by a police team on Aug 25, also admitted to producing the smoke bombs using instructions from a YouTube video titled “How to make a smoke bomb with a ping pong ball” and made two videos of him testing the smoke bombs he had produced.

He also admitted to conducting 10 tests on the smoke bombs and shared the videos with the WhatsApp group.

Investigations also revealed that the accused had planned to throw the smoke bombs at a popular hangout for transvestites in Jalan Tun Ali, apart from planning attacks on a beer factory and gaming machines on the eve of the National Day.