KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — A TikTok user known as ‘Abang Bas’ was charged again today in the Sessions Court here, this time for allegedly posting an offensive comment in a video on his account earlier this month.
According to Malay daily Berita Harian the 24-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charge after it was read out to him before Judge Osman Affendi Mohd Shalleh.
According to the news report, the accused is alleged to have used his TikTok account under the name ‘Abang Bas’ to knowingly make and send an offensive comment in a video involving a nine-year-old girl, captioned ‘hari ini crush buat homework’ followed by a ‘love’ emoji as he watched her.
The offence was allegedly committed at Jalan Aman 2, Taman Budiman, Parit Raja here at 11pm on September 5.
He was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588), which is punishable under Section 233(3) of the same Act. If convicted, the accused could face a fine of up to RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to one year, or both, and an additional fine of RM1,000 for each day the offence continues after conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Izzati Rozman prosecuted, while the accused was represented by lawyer Umar Zulkarnain.
Following the not guilty plea, the prosecution requested a new mention date to align this case with another case involving the accused at the Muar Sessions Court, which was heard last Tuesday.
“The prosecution requests for this case to be transferred to the Muar Sessions Court as the accused is already facing two charges there, in accordance with Section 165 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” Nur Izzati was quoted saying.
Berita Harian reported that the prosecution did not propose bail but suggested a sum of RM25,000 with additional conditions should the court decide to grant bail.
After hearing submissions from both sides, the court allowed the accused to be released on RM10,000 bail with one surety, and fixed October 10 for mention alongside the Muar case.
The court also imposed conditions that the accused must report to the nearest police station at the start of every month and refrain from contacting or disturbing the victim until the case concludes.
Last Tuesday, ‘Abang Bas’ was charged at the Muar Sessions Court under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and Section 15(a)(iii) of the same Act.
Previously, ‘Abang Bas’ was arrested after he uploaded a TikTok video of a primary school student, who was also his passenger, referring to her as his ‘crush’ and ‘beloved’.
The arrest was made following a directive from Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, who instructed the Department of Child Development officers to lodge a police report after the video went viral on social media.
