Danish man first jailed under fake news law
KUALA LUMPUR: A Danish national is the first person to be punished under the newly enacted Anti-Fake News Act, over a YouTube video he had posted accusing emergency services of responding slowly after a Palestinian Hamas member was gunned down in Kuala Lumpur.
Salah Salem Saleh Sulaiman, a 46-year-old of Yemeni descent, pleaded guilty to maliciously publishing fake news in the form of a YouTube video under the user name Salah Sulaiman and was sentenced to a week’s jail and fined RM10,000.
The Cyber Court, where the case was heard, also played back the video, in which he claimed he was with the Palestinian victim during the shooting and made countless calls to the police who arrived the scene 50 minutes later while an ambulance came an hour later.
The law, passed in early April, makes the deliberate dissemination of false information punishable by up to six years in jail and a hefty fine. It has sparked outrage from rights groups, who believe it is aimed at cracking down on dissent.
Fadi al-Batsh, said to be a rocket-making expert, was on his way to dawn prayers on April 21 when he was assassinated by motorbike-riding gunmen, a killing his family have blamed on Israel’s spy agency. The Jewish state has denied it was behind the murder.
The Dane, who did not have a lawyer and was wearing white robes and a green skullcap during a court appearance in Kuala Lumpur, said he was not aware of Malaysia’s laws.
“I agree I did a mistake because I didn’t ask what is the law of this country,” he said, speaking in English, his hands trembling.
A clip of the video played in court, which lasted almost two minutes, showed him speaking in Arabic and complaining about what he claimed was the slow response of the police and ambulance service after the shooting. Authorities have disputed his claims. Judge Zaman Mohamad Noor sentenced him to a week in jail, including time already served since his April 23 arrest, and fined him 10,000 ringgit ($2,500).
If he cannot pay the fine, then he will have to serve another month in jail, the judge said.
The Dane, who had been on a 10-day visit to Malaysia when the crime was committed, said he did not have enough money to pay the fine. He said he had three wives and six children.