Malaysia sentences foreign man to 7 years’ jail for possessing 6 guns, ammunition
Shalom Avitan, who was detained in March last year, had told Malaysian police that he was in the country to hunt down his fellow countryman.
Israeli national Shalom Avitan is escorted by Malaysian police upon his arrival at a court in Kuala Lumpur on Apr 12, 2024. (File Photo: AFP/Arif Kartono)
PETALING JAYA: A foreign national was sentenced to seven years’ jail on Wednesday (Feb 26) after he pleaded guilty to possessing 200 rounds of ammunition and six guns in Malaysia last year.
Kuala Lumpur Session Court Judge Zaki Salleh handed down the sentence after accepting 39-year-old Shalom Avitan’s guilty plea for both a primary and an alternative charge under Section 8(a) of the Arms Act 1960, local news outlet Berita Harian reported.
An alternative charge refers to an additional charge framed against an accused person in case the primary charge is not proven.
Zaki said the court was satisfied with the Israeli national’s guilty plea.
“Mr Avitan, the sentence for each charge is seven years imprisonment, starting from your arrest on Mar 28 last year,” Zaki was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
"The imprisonment will run concurrently."
For the primary charge, Avitan was found in possession of a box of Shell Shock NAS3 9mm ammunition containing eight bullets, three boxes of Bullet Master Co Ltd ammunition containing 150 rounds, and 42 bullets in three different firearms - all without a licence or permit.
Under the alternative charge, he was found in possession of six unlicensed guns - a Glock 19 USA 9×19, Sig Sauer P3205P, Cougar 8000FT, Glock 17 Gen4 Austria 9×19, M&P 9C Smith & Wesson Springfield MA USA, and Stoeger Cougar 8000F.
The unlicensed weapons and ammunition were discovered in a hotel room on Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur between 6.46pm on Mar 26 and 6pm on Mar 28.
Avitan was then detained on Mar 28 and told Malaysian police that he was in the country to hunt down a fellow Israeli. Media outlets in Israel had reported that he was an associate of a syndicate and wanted to kill the head of a rival criminal family.
Avitan had previously pleaded not guilty on Apr 12 last year to the charges and claimed trial at the same Sessions Court.
His trial was scheduled to begin next month, following a dispute over the competency of a Hebrew interpreter and concerns about the language that the trial would be conducted in.
But on Wednesday, Avitan entered a guilty plea. He arrived at the court compound at about 9.30am heavily escorted while the area was guarded by prison wardens, Special Action Unit personnel clad in tactical gear, along with police from Bukit Aman’s K9 Detection Unit.
Following his arrest, Malaysian police did not rule out the possibility that the Israeli could have had other plans, according to Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain.
Razarudin had said then that Avitan could have been a “threat” to Malaysian leaders, foreign diplomats and even leaders from Hamas.
Investigations found that he had entered the country on Mar 12 on a flight from the United Arab Emirates using a French passport.
According to Malaysian police, Avitan paid a married Malaysian couple about RM10,000 (US$2,260) for each of the six firearms, which were smuggled from neighbouring Thailand. The couple and another Malaysian suspected of acting as the Israeli’s driver were arrested last year.
