A viral video caused the ire of Malaysians recently, showing an individual in China holding the Jalur Gemilang before using it to wash a motorcycle.
According to WORLD OF BUZZ, the video was originally shared by a Malaysian student in China, who claimed that he recorded the video to report the man seen in the video, a Chinese national, to the school he was studying at in the country.
The Malaysian student added that he also told the individual to stop disrespecting the Malaysian flag and return it to him. Afterwards, he claimed that the school had taken action against the individual who disrespected the Jalur Gemilang by seizing the motorcycle.
Regardless, the viral video understandably provoked the anger of Malaysians, with many urging for actions to be taken on the incident.
With that in mind, what legal provisions are applicable to the incident? Given that the video was recorded and posted overseas, can legal actions actually be taken?
Here's a breakdown of the relevant laws and regulations on the matter:
Section 504 of the Penal Code for intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace
One of the most relevant legal provisions on the matter is Section 504 of the Penal Code for intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace below:
As per the above provision, it is an offence for anyone to intentionally insult while knowing that it is likely to cause a break in public peace.
Applied to the incident, it can be argued that the individual seen in the video had allegedly intentionally insulted and proked a break of peace by using the Jalur Gemilang to wash a motorcycle.
Accordingly, anyone charged and convicted under this provision may face up to 2 years in jail, a fine or both.
Section 233(1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998
Besides that, the publishing of the video online may also be considered an offence under Section 233(1) of the Communications Act 1998 below:
Based on the above provision, the individual who posted the video can be argued to have committed an offence because he had used a network service, in this case, social media platforms, to make a communication which is obscene, indecent, menacing or offensive in character with the intent to harass another person.
Should the individual be convicted under this provision, he may face action under Section 233(3) of the Act below, whereby if convicted, he faces up to an RM50,000 fine, imprisonment of up to 1 year, or both.
Additionally, if convicted, the individual may also face a further fine of up to RM1,000 for every day during which the offence is continued after conviction.
Are the two legal provisions above applicable to offences committed overseas?
With all of that in mind, all of the above may just be academic as while the individual who recorded and posted the video is Malaysian, the act wasn’t committed while in Malaysia.
Hence, no action can be taken against them as Section 504 of the Penal Code, as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 have no extra-territorial jurisdiction.
For the former, Section 4 of the Penal Code prescribes the below:
For context, in the Penal Code, Section 504 is a provision of its Chapter XXII, which are not provisions prescribed as extra-territorial offences.
Hence, given that the individual who disrespected the Jalur Gemilang is a foreign national and the incident took place overseas, he may not be charged under Section 504 of the Penal Code.
Similarly, Section 4 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 prescribes that any extraterritorial application of the legislation is only applicable to persons outside of Malaysia if the person is a licensee under the Act, or provides relevant facilities or services under the Act.
Both definitions are not applicable to the Malaysian who posted the video, hence he may not be charged under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 as well.
Accordingly, that is why no legal action is likely against either the Chinese national doing the disrespectful act in the video or the Malaysian who recorded and posted the video.
So, what do you guys think of the whole situation? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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