KUALA LUMPUR – Sathiskumar Balakrishnan, 44, pleaded guilty to issuing obscene comments against late influencer Rajeswary Appahu, also known as Esha, using the TikTok account @dulal_brothers_360.
He was accused of insulting Rajeswary, calling her a “daughter of a whore”, among others, at 10.12pm on June 30.
For this, he was charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and possibly faces up to one year in jail, a fine of up to RM50,000, or both, upon conviction.
However, he pleaded not guilty to insulting the modesty of Rajeswary’s mother R. Puspa via the same TikTok account at 10.15pm on June 30.
If convicted under Section 509 of the Penal Code, he will be punished with imprisonment of up to five years or with fine or with both.
Later, sessions court judge Siti Aminah Ghazali granted Sathiskumar a RM36,000 bail and ordered him to surrender his passport to the court and to report himself to the nearest police station every month.
In addition, Shalini Periasamy, 33, has been fined RM100 for uttering insults via TikTok account @alphaquinnsha with intent to provoke Rajeswary.
She pleaded guilty after the charge was read before magistrate Arunjothy M. Selvaraju at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex today.
According to the charge sheet, she committed the offence at 4.10am on July 1 in Jalan Ipoh, Sentul.
She was fined under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 for insulting with intent to provoke a breach of peace.
Rajeswary was found dead in her Setapak home on July 5. A month prior, she had lodged a report at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters, detailing the violent threats made against her on social media.
On July 8, police arrested Shalini at her home in Rawang, Selangor and obtained a total of five days of remand to assist with investigations.
Three days later, police arrested Sathiskumar who had been remanded for four days.
On July 12, Rajeswary’s mother, R. Puspa, lodged a police report stating that TikTok users had continued to make disparaging remarks against her daughter despite her death.
Puspa named several individuals, including controversial preacher Zamri Vinoth and policewoman Sheila Sharon Steven Kumar.
On Sunday, Sentul police chief Ahmad Sukarno Mohd Zahari said the identities of three individuals named in Puspa’s report had been established and the authorities were in the process of recording their statements.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Sabri Othman told the court that the case had garnered immense public interest following Sathiskumar’s actions on TikTok.
“This was viewed by many and the victim was subjected to such obscene language. The victim could not defend herself against such content put up by the suspect.
“Following this cyberbullying incident, this has affected the victim’s mental health and caused severe emotional stress, including depression and always being restless and anxious, as well as losing her self-confidence.”
Sathiskumar, who was unrepresented, appealed for a lighter sentence as he needed to support his wife, who is disabled, and three children.
“I have three children, aged 18, 20 and 21. Two of them are still in school.”
Case mention is fixed on August 16 as Sathiskumar told the court he needed to secure the services of a lawyer for the next proceeding. – July 16, 2024