JOURNO CHARGED OVER FB POSTS ON VIRUS
She claims trial to making statements with intention to cause public fear
AJOURNALIST was charged in the magistrate’s court yesterday with three counts of intentionally causing public fear or alarm with her social media posts related to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.
Wan Noor Hayati Wan Alias, 40, pleaded not guilty before magistrate Tawfiq Affandy Chin.
She was charged for three separate posts on her Facebook page at 10pm on Jan 26.
One of the alleged offensive posts was a warning against 1,000 Chinese nationals who arrived in Penang amid the outbreak.
Penang state executive councillor Yeoh Soon Hin had earlier explained that the tourists from a cruise ship had undergone medical examinations.
The charges were framed under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of two years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Nurilya Ellyna Nor Azmal prosecuted the case while the accused was not represented.
The court allowed a RM12,000 bail with one surety and set March 11 for remention of the case.
Later, in a statement, AttorneyGeneral Tan Sri Tommy Thomas said people who initiated and disseminated lies on any issue relating to the 2019-nCoV outbreak on the Internet would be investigated and charged, if a case was established.
“No freedom is absolute in any society at any point of time in history. The constitutionally entrenched guarantees of free speech and expression and the statutorily guaranteed right not to censor the Internet as stated in Section 3(3) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 do not give a licence to propagate lies.
“This phenomenon is compounded by our obsession to introduce racial or religious overtones into every issue of public life.
“Hence, lies on the Internet connecting the coronavirus to any particular ethnic or religious group are not only deplorable, but inflammatory in our plural society of numerous ethnic and religious groups,” he said.
Thomas also said the chambers was working closely with the police, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and other governmental agencies to prevent the spread of false statements on the outbreak.
“Our health authorities must be allowed to deal with the problem in a calm and measured manner, without having to cope with extraneous matters.”