Chiok Wai Loong, who was unrepresented, pleaded guilty before judge Suzana Hussain.

He was charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which carries a sentence of up to one year, a fine of up to RM50,000, or both, upon conviction.

He will serve an additional three months if he fails to pay the fine.

After admitting to the charge, Chiok apologised and told the court he did not post the comments on purpose.

“It has become a hobby for me to surf Facebook and leave comments, I didn’t mean to insult the religion of others,” he said.

He appealed for leniency and promised not to commit a similar offence in the future.

Chiok was the second person to be brought to court in two days for making insensitive comments on social media over the issue.

In the Kota Kinabalu sessions court yesterday, another man pleaded guilty to a similar charge and was sentenced to six months jail and a RM15,000 fine.

Ricky Shane Cagampang, 33, was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act with misusing network facilities by posting the comment through his Facebook account at 12.05pm on March 17.

The controversy arose after photographs of the socks, sold at KK Mart’s Bandar Sunway store, appeared on social media last Wednesday, earning the ire of the Muslim community and sparking calls for a boycott by Umno Youth.

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