Two fined RM3,000 over fake news
KUALA LUMPUR: Two people were fined RM3,000 each for fake postings on social media over the seizure of 74 containers containing beef, lamb and pork last year.
Sessions Court judge Zaman Mohd Noor also ordered factory mechanical engineer Mohd Asrul Alwin Mohd Yusoff, 32, and former polytechnic student Ainin Syazwani Che Mat Noordin, 22, to be jailed one month each if they failed to pay the fine.
Judge Zaman fined both after they pleaded guilty to the charges Friday.
Mohd Asrul Alwin and Ainin Syazwani were accused separately of using a Facebook application with profile accounts “Rul Yusoff” and “Ann Syzwni” to post the fake communications with the intent to insult other people at 7.48am on July 20 and at 9.53am on July 21 last year respectively.
Their postings were read by a man at a restaurant at Aeon Alpha Angle in Bandar Baru Wangsa Maju at 10am on Aug 1.
Both were charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588).
In asking for leniency, Mohd Asrul Alwin apologised to the court for what he had done and added that he supported his parents in Kota Baru, Kelantan, and visited them twice a month.
Meanwhile, Ainin Syazwani said she was a former polytechnic student and currently had a parttime job earning a RM1,000 salary a month, adding that she had no intention to insult other people.
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) prosecuting officer Norhani Mohamad Adzhar has asked for a deterrent sentence to serve as a lesson to Mohd Asrul Alwin and Ainin Syazwani.
Based on the statement of facts, the complainant had read the Facebook comments at a restaurant in Aeon Alpha Angle at Bandar Baru Wangsa Maju at 10am on Aug 1 last year.
The man then lodged a report at MCMC the following day.