KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — A co-founder of the Crackhouse Comedy Club has been arrested for questioning at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters, an official confirmed.
Royal Malaysia Police secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin said the Classified Crimes Investigation Unit arrested the 39-year-old today over two videos recorded at the club that were allegedly of a racially sensitive nature.
“Investigations are being conducted under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act for the utterance of seditious remarks and under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for the improper use of network facilities,” she said in a statement.
The police will also apply to remand the person tomorrow for further investigation, she added.
The sedition offence is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of RM5,000 for first offenders while the CMA crime attracts up to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of no more than RM50,000 upon conviction.
Earlier, several media outlets reported that the co-founder was arrested over videos allegedly of previous comedy performances, which were reported to authorities as being offensive to the Malay community.
The comedy club made headlines earlier this week after videos of Siti Nuramira Abdullah’s performance there was uploaded online.
Her bit was deemed offensive to Muslims and she was subsequently charged under the Penal Code.
Her boyfriend, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, was charged separately under the Communications and Multimedia Act with uploading the videos.
The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has also suspended Crackhouse’s operating licence pending a related investigation.
