Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Legal and Institutional Reforms) Ramkarpal Singh has announced that using a fake account to stalk another person in Malaysia may be subject to action.
This is following the passing of the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2023 with a new Section 507A inserted into the Penal Code for the offence of stalking.
Ramkarpal Singh in the Dewan Negara on 6 April 2023
In his winding up speech in the Dewan Negara yesterday (6 April 2023), Ramkarpal said that investigation onto stalking cases will continue even if fake accounts were used to do the act. Furthermore, action can be taken if the identity of the perpetrator can be traced by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The Deputy Law Minister asserted,
“In this regards, MCMC needs to take proactive steps to trace who is behind the fake account… The act of stalking today does not only involve physical acts as in the past, but is also carried out using social media as well as detection tools such as global tracking system tools and even drones.”
For illustration purposes
Ramkarpal further elaborated that under the new provision on stalking offences, the element that needs to be proven are:
- The act was repeated at least twice
- The act was followed by disturbance
- Victim being in a state of stress or fear
The offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to 3-year imprisonment, a fine or both upon conviction. Besides that, if an individual carried out the act of stalking at the behest of another person, that person too can be charged.
During the debate windup, Ramkarpal also mentioned that a new chapter and provision was added into Act 593 to empower the court to issue a protection order against a person who is being investigated for stalking. Anyone found disobeying the order can be punished with up to 1-year jail or a fine or both.
So, what do you guys make of these new changes to the anti-stalking law? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Also read: “Stalking is now illegal!” – Dewan Rakyat Passes Anti-Stalking Bill After Third Hearing
