KUCHING: A TikTok voice message containing a death threat has cost a 38-year-old man RM5,000 after he admitted to sending it to another user following an online misunderstanding.
Magistrate Leona Dominic Mojiliu today fined Ayub Bagat RM5,000, in default six months’ imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 507B of the Penal Code.
Section 507B of the Penal Code criminalises the use of threatening, abusive, or insulting words, communications, or acts intended to cause, or likely to cause harassment, distress, fear, or alarm to a person.
The offence carries a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.
Ayub was charged with sending a threatening voice message through the TikTok account ‘JokerDudaIblis’ to a 33-year-old man, causing harassment by threatening to kill him.
The offence took place at about 9:00 pm on July 10 at a food product supplier in the Muara Tebas Land District, Demak Laut Industrial Park, Sejingkat.
According to the case facts, the victim lodged a police report after receiving a voice message in which the accused allegedly threatened to kill him and his friend, identified as Shateri.
Investigations found that the threat was sparked by a misunderstanding over a change of name on a TikTok account.
Police later arrested Ayub and seized his Xiaomi HyperOS Redmi 14C mobile phone.
A forensic examination confirmed that the device belonged to him and that the TikTok account ‘jokerdudaiblis’ was installed and actively used on the phone.
Ayub also admitted he had been using the device for more than two years and voluntarily handed it over to investigators during his arrest.
Investigators concluded that he had intentionally sent the threatening voice message through TikTok with the intention of causing fear and distress to the complainant, leading to the charge under Section 507B of the Penal Code.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor, Ahmad Fauzulutfi Suriani, while Ayub was unrepresented.
