Prosecutors at the Medan District Court charged the defendant, Doni Irawan Malay, for blasphemy under Article 156 of the Criminal Code and demanded a four-year prison term for him during a hearing on Tuesday.

Doni was accused of committing a blasphemous act by purportedly tearing out pages from the Quran. He pleaded for a lighter sentence, conveying his guilt to the court.

“I am very sorry, your honor. I will never do it again. Please give me as light a punishment as possible,” he told the judge as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Sentencing is scheduled for next week.

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According to the prosecutors, the incident took place at Al-Mashum Mosque in Medan Kota district in the afternoon of Feb. 13.

“The defendant entered the mosque and took a Quran from a shelf without permission from the management,” a prosecutor told the court, adding that the defendant then took the Quran into the male ablution room.

“The defendant removed the cover from the Quran, threw it into a garbage bin inside the ablution room and then proceeded to tear out pages from the Quran with both of his hands.”

They said Doni then exited the mosque later that afternoon and threw the ripped Quran pages onto the streets before running away.

Doni was later caught by locals and reported to the Medan Kota Police. (rfa)