Nur Fitri's offence very serious - Najib

The International Business Times had reported last week that Nur Fitri (pic) was arrested during a raid at his home in Queensborough Terrace near Hyde Park on Nov 20 last year. - File Photo

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Thursday described Malaysian scholar Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin's conviction for possession of child pornography material in the United Kingdom, as a very serious offence.

He said the 23-year-old must be served punishment in accordance with the seriousness of the offence.

The Prime Minister said he does not agree with comments and proposals by certain parties that the government will appeal Nur Fitri's case for a lesser sentence, what more, using taxpayers money for the purpose.

"Nur Fitri was on trial in Britain under the laws of the country and given a chance to defend himself and he pleaded guilty. We must respect the law of the country and anyone found guilty must be punished," he said in his latest najibrazak.com blog posting, Thursday.

The International Business Times had reported last week that Nur Fitri was arrested during a raid at his home in Queensborough Terrace near Hyde Park on Nov 20 last year.

He pleaded guilty and began his jail sentence in April after being caught with more than 30,000 images and videos of children being abused, including "Category A" images which involve sexual penetration of children.

Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) which funded Nur Fitri's studies at the Imperial College in London, has since terminated the scholarship upon his conviction on April 30.

However, Najib agreed that Nur Fitri must be given counselling so that he would not repeat such an offence in the future.

"It must be done to enable the individual to be accepted into the community again," he said.