A 23-year-old social media influencer was fined RM40,000 after he admitted to sharing an offensive video involving a homeless man.
According to Oriental Daily, Tang Sie Luk, who goes by the name ‘aluk’, pleaded guilty to the charge before Judge Sazlina Safie.
If he failed to pay the fine, he would have had to serve four months in jail.
He paid the fine.
Video showed teens feeding bones to homeless man
The case was tied to a video clip posted on Instagram, where three teenage boys were seen giving rice mixed with chicken bones to a homeless man.
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The footage, which was over one minute long, was said to be filmed along Jalan Wong Ah Fook in Johor Bahru.
Tang admitted to uploading the video from his own phone.
He was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which targets offensive or harmful online content.
The law provides a fine up to RM500,000, or up to two years’ jail, or both. An additional RM5,000 fine per day can also be imposed if the offence continues after conviction.
Tang claimed to be remorseful
During sentencing, Tang, who was unrepresented, asked for a lighter punishment and said he regretted his actions and had already apologised.
However, MCMC’s deputy public prosecutor, Fadhli Ab Wahab, urged the court to apply a strict sentence as a warning to others.
Fadhli said the act was disrespectful and done only to gain views online.
This was not an act of kindness. It was done to exploit someone’s hardship for content and attention,” he said.
He added that the homeless man felt “insulted and angry” after seeing the video.
