SHAH ALAM – A freelance event management consultant was charged in the Magistrates’ Court here today with stalking a female photographer, making him the first person to be charged under the new Section 507A (1) of the Penal Code.
Mohamad Safiq Rosli, 37, pleaded not guilty to the charge which was read out before Magistrate Sasha Diana Sabtu.
He was alleged to have stalked the woman by repeatedly harassing her through three communications on his Twitter account last month.
According to the charge, Safiq was charged with repeatedly harassing Acacia Mardiana Daud, 31, through the Twitter application under the account name “@sopert99” by sending three communications which expressed his feelings for the woman on her Twitter account “@ShaFoShizzle” which was read at a house here.
He was alleged to have committed the offence between 1.40am last July 15 and 5.58pm on July 21 despite knowing that the act is likely to cause, distress, fear or alarm to her.
He is facing imprisonment for up to three years or with a fine or with both if found guilty.
Deputy public prosecutor Zilfinaz Abbas did not offer bail taking into account that Safiq had previously violated bail conditions for a case involving the same victim in the United Kingdom (UK).
Lawyer Fithril Hakim Ab Jalil, representing afiq, did not object to it.
According to Zilfinaz, the accused was supposed to appear in a court in the UK to explain for breaching his bail last June 2, but he fled to Malaysia resulting in his name being blacklisted in the UK.
“I was also instructed to send the accused for observation to the Forensic Psychiatry Unit at Ulu Kinta Hospital.
“His family had also sent him to Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) for treatment and the hospital has given a medical report on him today,” she said, adding that afiq has been warded at the psychiatric ward at HKL since last July 17.
Meanwhile, lawyer Jason Wee, who is holding a watching brief for Acacia Mardiana, applied for a protection order for the woman to avoid further harassment by Mohamad Safiq.
“This order ought to be given to my client to avoid further harassment due to safety concerns. The accused flew to the UK to continue such acts against the same victim.
“We humbly pray to restrain the accused from going anywhere near the victim and not to communicate by any means with the victim until the conclusion of this case,” he said.
Sasha Diana allowed the prosecution’s request to refer the accused to Ulu Kinta Hospital and will set the bail amount on the accused after the hospital had completed its observation of him.
The court also allowed Wee’s application for a protection order and fixed September 7 for mention.
Through a recent post on Instagram, Acacia Mardiana revealed that she had been living in fear for eight years because of sexual harassment by a man on social media.
Her plight caught the attention of Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil who advised Acacia Mardiana to submit evidence including police reports and screenshots to the government’s official email for further action. – Bernama, August 10, 2023
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