‘Influencer’ dies: Local woman arrested
KUALA LUMPUR: A local woman was arrested to assist in an investigation related to threats made through the TikTok application against a social media influencer.
Sentul District Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner, Ahmad Sukarno Mohd Zahari, said the 35-year-old woman was arrested in Rawang, Selangor, at 1.45 on Monday.
“The suspect is now remanded for three days from Monday to Wednesday to assist in the investigation in accordance with Section 506 of the Penal Code (criminal threats), Section 233 of the Multimedia Communications Act 1998 (spreading obscene statements) and Section 14 of the Minor Offenses Act (disgraceful conduct),” he said in a statement on Monday.
Ahmad Sukarno said that his party received a complaint related to the case from a 39-year-old man at 4.13 p.m. on Saturday.
“The police investigation found that the incident took place on June 30 and July 1 last, while the complainant was in Jalan Ipoh. Here, two posts were seen through Tiktok regarding defamation and threats against the influencer.
“Both TikTok accounts have used the influencer’s picture as the background of the video content that has been uploaded to their respective accounts,” he said.
He said that the content involved was also found to contain threats to the influencer and also used abusive and obscene words.
“The results of the police review found that the allegations and defamation that were reported existed based on the screenshots submitted by the complainant to the police but were suspected to have been deleted by the two owners of the TikTok account,” he said.
Ahmad Sukarno said the Kuala Lumpur Police advised the public not to arbitrarily upload any articles or content that could cause annoyance and anxiety among the community.
“People who have any information regarding this incident can contact investigating officer Inspector Kumaran Krishnan at 010-9093726 or the Sentul District Police Headquarters Operations Room at 03-40482222,” he said.
On Sunday, the Minister of Communications, Fahmi Fadzil, was reported to have said that the issue of cyberbullying on social media platforms will be presented in the Cabinet meeting next Friday to find the best solution, including legal and enforcement aspects.
He said the presentation was requested by the Prime Minister himself, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and it will also touch on the report regarding an incident involving an influencer on the TikTok application who allegedly committed suicide due to stress caused by cyberbullying.
The body of the 29-year-old female influencer was found in her home at about 11 a.m. last Friday.
Fahmi said that the main problem in dealing with cyberbullying is that most perpetrators hide behind fake accounts, making it difficult to identify their identities.
Fahmi said that the influencer’s family had made a police report and the ministry had been in contact with TikTok, which expressed its willingness to cooperate more proactively.
