Malaysia's first stalking case - Court orders stalker to be admitted to Hospital Bahagia

THE Shah Alam magistrate's court has ordered Mohamad Safiq Rosli, 37, - the first person to be charged with stalking in Malaysia to be sent to Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Tanjung Rambutan.

Magistrate Sasha Diana Sabtu said the accused was not guilty of the offence on grounds of insanity and that he would be detained at His Majesty's pleasure.

"The prosecution has successfully proved that the accused had stalked photographer Acacia Mardiana Daud.

"However, he did not know the nature and consequences of the offence as he was of unsound mind at the time.

"The defence has successfully invoked Section 84 of the Penal Code that the accused was of unsound mind," she said after hearing submissions from the prosecution and defence during the one-day trial.

Diana ordered that Safiq be kept at the pleasure of the Selangor ruler in Hospital Bahagia following Section 348 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Earlier, the defence’s witness Hospital Bahagia’s consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony said that Mohamad Safiq had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

He told the court that during the alleged acts on July 15, 17 and 21, 2023, the accused was in an unsound mental state and was unaware of the nature and consequences of the act and unable to know that those acts were unlawful.

"He suffered from multiple delusions, the main delusion being delusion of love, also known as erotomania, a person experiencing this type of delusion believes that somebody else is in love with him," said Dr Anthony.

Safiq, who also worked as a graphic designer, was first charged with stalking on August 10 last year.

In her victim impact statement, Acacia said Safiq had created more than 30 social media accounts to harass her though she tried blocking and ignoring him.

"I was frightened of him and this has severely affected my mental state.

"He has even spoken about wanting to taste my soul and has wasted eight years of his life to disturb me," she said in her statement read by her lawyer Jason Wee.

Wee said Acacia was frightened to socialise and was very wary of strangers.

Section 507A of the Penal Code which criminalises stalking, whether in person or online came into force on May 31, 2023. - The Vibes, January 17, 2024