KUALA LUMPUR – After the tragic loss of her daughter due to cyberbullying, R. Puspa is left questioning the justice system, which has fined a perpetrator a mere RM100 for her actions.
Puspa was in court yesterday as P. Shalini faced criminal charges for making insulting remarks towards her and her late influencer daughter Rajeswary Appahu, also known as Esha.
Shalini, who was seen smiling as she exited the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex, was fined RM100 after pleading guilty to a charge under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 on insulting with the intent to provoke a breach of peace.
Meanwhile, another social media user, B. Sathiskumar, pleaded guilty to issuing obscene comments against Esha, using the TikTok account @dulal_brothers_360.
He was accused of insulting the influencer, 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 Puspa via the same TikTok account at 10.15pm on June 30.
“It breaks my heart that Shalini smiled and walked out confidently. The ones who did wrong walk free, and the ones who did right are buried,” Puspa told Scoop.
“So now, anyone could do a TikTok live (to cyberbully) and get away with a small fine. They should have had a heavier sentence. I am not saying they should be put to death, but they should be in prison for at least five years.”
Clearly dissatisfied that justice had not been served, Puspa highlighted that there were still social media users, including independent preacher Zamri Vinoth and policewoman Sheila Sharon Steven Kumar, who had made disparaging remarks about her daughter even after her death.
Zamri had lodged police reports against Rajeswary, leading to her arrest and remand shortly before her death.
The preacher filed a police report after Rajeswary hosted a TikTok live session where another user made insulting remarks against religion.
On July 12, Puspa filed a police report against Zamri and Sheila for making remarks against Rajeswary on TikTok after her death.
“If police can arrest and investigate my daughter after Zamri made a police report, why can’t they arrest and do the same to him after I made a police report? Esha did not insult religion; it was someone else,” Puspa said.
On July 5, Rajeswary was found dead in her home in Rawang. She had lodged a police report the day before, complaining of threats and insults from various TikTok accounts. She is believed to have taken her own life.
Yesterday, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the cabinet had agreed in principle to amend legal provisions related to cyberbullying following the influencer’s death.
Fahmi, along with Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo and law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, emphasised the need to strengthen the law.
Fahmi said Azalina was working on amendments to the Penal Code, which could be implemented swiftly.
He added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had highlighted the importance of holding social media platforms accountable for such incidents, noting the prevalence of other cybercrimes online. – July 18, 2024