Violence has not returned to the district known as the country's sugarcane-belt, but political divisions remain as Hindus typically vote for BJP and Muslims for the opposition
Danish man: First convict under 'fake news' law in Malaysia
A Malaysian court has convicted a Danish citizen on Monday of inaccurate criticism of police on social media, the first person to be prosecuted under a new law against 'fake news,' reports The Straits Times.
Published : 2 May 2018, 04:28 AM
Updated : 2 May 2018, 04:28 AM
Salah Salem Saleh Sulaiman, 46, was charged with spreading false news through a video in YouTube accusing the police of delayed response to distress calls when a Palestinian lecturer was shot on April 21.
Police said they took eight minutes to respond to the shooting in the capital Kuala Lumpur while Sulaiman accused them of taking 50 minutes.
A Danish citizen of Yemeni descent, Sulaiman, who was unrepresented at the court hearing, pleaded guilty and said he posted the video in a 'moment of anger' without meaning any harm.
The two-minute video played in the court showed him speaking in Arabic and complaining about what he claimed as 'slow response' of the police and ambulance after the shooting.
"I agree I made a mistake. I seriously apologise to everybody in Malaysia, not just the Malaysian police," he said.
Malaysia is among the first few countries to legislate policing of fake news with a law that came into force on April 11, amid criticism that it is aimed to curb dissent and free speech ahead of Malaysia's general election on May 9.
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