SEPANG, Oct 24 — Social media “influencer” Adeline Chang was fined RM7,000 today after she pled guilty before the Sessions Court here to posting a photograph of a minor online and captioned it with offensive remarks.
She was earlier charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, which is punishable by up to one year’s imprisonment, a maximum fine of RM50,000, or both upon conviction.
Chang, 24, arrived for her hearing before Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman accompanied by her sister, fellow “influencer” Alice, dressed in a white floral dress.
The proceedings were earlier disrupted due to Chang’s seeming inability to follow the proceedings in Malay, despite indicating to her lawyer Muhammad Rhastdan Abdul Wahab that she understood the national language.
As the charge was read out to her, however, she requested for a Mandarin interpreter, forcing the court to halt proceedings to wait for one to be available.
After an interpreter was found for proceedings resumed, Chang pled guilty.
“This court has been told you are ill and also undergoing counselling, we take that into consideration when deciding your punishment and thus will impose a fine on you,” he said.
After handing down the fine in lieu of six months' jail, the judge criticised Chang for lacking civility, which he said was one of the five principles in the Rukunegara.
The judge said although Chang did not make remarks such as those pertaining to race, religion, or royalty, what she wrote about the child was still offensive.
“Labelling a child in such a way can lead to harmful, long-term consequences,” Ahmad said.
“As such you have committed an offence and you're lucky you only get a fine and that's RM7,000.”
He further advised Chang to avoid publicising her personal issues, especially when they could harm others.
Deputy public prosecutor Nazrul Nizam Mohd Zameri earlier described Chang’s action as cyberbullying, which he said was magnified by her “influencer” role.
The judge also noted this in his decision.
“As an influencer, you have a wider reach than others. More of the public will see your posts, and they can cause unease, so be mindful of what you're doing," he said.
Chang paid the fine later.
