Court fines man RM10,000 for profanity, insulting royalty on Instagram

KUALA LUMPUR: A logistics company employee was fined RM10,000 by the sessions court here for insulting the royal institution in an Instagram post made three years ago.

Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali imposed the fine on Tan Yong Hua after he pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for publishing an offensive post in November 2021 with the intent to annoy others.

If Tan fails to pay the fine, he will face a six-month jail sentence.

According to the facts of the case, a police report was filed on Nov 6, 2021, after the complainant came across Tan’s post that contained profanity against the royal institution.

Police arrested Tan that same month and seized his phone and SIM card.

In pleading for leniency, Tan expressed remorse and assured the court that he would never post anything similar again. “I am truly sorry for the post,” he said.

However, deputy public prosecutor Wan Ahmad Hijrah Wan Abdullah urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, as the Instagram post involved the royalty.