Travel agent arrested for insulting religion on social media

KUALA LUMPUR: The police arrested a travel agent last Monday for allegedly insulting Islam on social media on Monday.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Huzir Mohammed said the suspect was arrested after he surrendered himself at the Northeast District Police Headquarters in Penang.

“The arrest was made following eight police reports made against the owner of the Facebook account using the alias ‘KT Vasagam’,” he said at a press conference in Bukit Aman yesterday.

He said the man had no past criminal records and the police would seek a remand order against him yesterday.

“The case is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Commission Act and Section 505 (c) of the Penal Code,” he said.

The man had allegedly uploaded a picture of a pig superimposed with a halal stamp in Jawi script, in a Facebook post on Monday.

In a separate case, Huzir said his department would be working with the International Police (Interpol) to detect a technician suspected of insulting Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador via Twitter.

Huzir said the owner of the Twitter account using the alias ‘Naavin Pillai’ was currently believed to be overseas.

“The police were able to obtain background information of the man and his family via cooperation with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and several other departments.

“He is 38 years old, originating from the Klang Valley, and he has worked as a technician here before leaving the country. We will ask Interpol for help if he is still found to be overseas, and we will take action (against him) wherever he may be,” he said.

In addition to mocking the Prime Minister and the IGP, the man was also said to have responded to Klang MP Charles Santiago’s tweet on a terrorism-related issue with an obscene statement in English. - Bernama