From dramatic 2024 KLIA shooting to Kota Baru arrest: Travel agency manager pleads guilty to firearm possession, faces 14 years in jail and caning

From dramatic 2024 KLIA shooting to Kota Baru arrest: Travel agency manager pleads guilty to firearm possession, faces 14 years in jail and caning



The accused Hafizul Hawari (in face mask and orange trousers) was under heavy police escort while on the way to the Sepang Court for prosecution on April 25,2024. — File picture by Miera Zulyana

Wednesday, 19 Feb 2025 5:04 PM MYT


KOTA BARU, Feb 19 — A manager of a travel agency, Hafizul Hawari, 38, changed his plea to guilty in the Sessions Court here today to seven charges, including for possession of a firearm.

He had pleaded not guilty on the seven charges when they were first read out to him on April 24 last year before Judge Zulkifli Abllah, who then set this Tuesday (Feb 25) to hear the facts of the case and for sentencing.

On the first count, he was charged with unlawful possession of a Glock 19 Austria pistol, an offence under Section 8 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 which provides a sentence of up to 14 years in prison and a minimum of six lashes of the cane, if convicted.

For the second charge, he was accused of possessing 33 rounds of PMC 380 AUTO bullets without a valid licence under Section 8(a) of the Firearms Act 1960 (Act 206), punishable under the same section and faced a maximum sentence of seven years in prison or a fine not exceeding RM10,000, or both, if convicted.

On the third count, Hafizul was charged with possessing a clear plastic package containing ball-shaped firecrackers without a permit, an offence under Section 8 of the Explosives Act 1957, which provides a maximum sentence of seven years in prison or a fine of RM10,000, or both upon conviction.

On the fourth to the sixth counts, he was charged with possession of three identification cards belonging to three individuals aged 29, 34, and 35, respectively, under Regulation 25(1)(o) of the National Registration Regulations 1990.

Hafizul was also charged under Section 108(3)(f) of the Road Transport Act 1987 with driving a white Honda Civic car with a fake registration number.

The offence provides a maximum fine of RM20,000 or imprisonment for up to five years, or both upon conviction.

All the offences were allegedly committed in a Honda Civic car in the compound of a private hospital here at about 3 pm on April 15 last year. — Bernama