Johor police confirm receiving 2 reports against comedian Jocelyn Chia
JOHOR BAHRU - Johor police confirmed on Wednesday that two reports have been received so far against stand-up comedian Jocelyn Chia for insulting and belittling Malaysia.
“An Interpol application was made on Tuesday to get more information related to the suspect to assist the investigation,” state police chief Kamarul Zaman Mamat said in a statement on Wednesday.
He said the investigation was being conducted in accordance with the legal provisions under Section 504/506(C) of the Penal Code. If convicted, offenders could be punished with a jail term of up to two years and a fine or both.
Commissioner Kamarul Zaman said the case was also being investigated under Section 233 of the Multimedia Communication Act 1998. If found guilty, offenders could be fined not more than RM50,000 (S$14,530), be jailed for a year, or both.
“The Johor police contingent welcomes any information from the public regarding the case,” he said.
He added that the Johor police were committed to carrying out the investigation and the public was advised not to play up this issue, which could disturb public order and peace.
Chia made a joke about the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in an April 7 performance at a Manhattan comedy club in New York.
Her jokes on Malaysia and MH370 raised the ire of the country and Singapore, where she made a jibe about the flight’s disappearance and uttered profanities towards Malaysian audiences while praising Singapore.
In an interview with the BBC, Chia said she was “not making fun of tragedy” and victims of such events. She said she was instead trying to find humour in tragedy.
Chia was born in the United States and raised in Singapore.
Her comments were criticised by Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and the Republic’s High Commissioner to Malaysia.
It was earlier reported that Inspector-General of Police Acryll Sani Abdullah was seeking Interpol’s cooperation to access Chia’s full identity and location.
Chia’s response to the move was that it might only make her more famous.
“Would love to see the face of the Interpol officer who received this request,” she wrote on Twitter.
She said she has already been approached by several media outlets such as the BBC and CNN for interviews and at least one more interview is lined up with Fox News.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, an Interpol spokesman said the organisation has not received a request involving Chia.
He said: “If any request is made, it must be compliant with Interpol’s Constitution, which forbids any activities which are religious, racial, military or political in nature.”
Similarly, he added, any request in relation to offences related to freedom of expression would also be assessed in view of the possible application of international human rights standards according to Interpol’s Constitution. - THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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