SIBU: A 33-year-old man was fined RM2,000, in default two months’ imprisonment, by the Magistrates’ Court here on Monday (Sept 7) after pleading guilty to defaming a man on social media.
The accused, Azrie Leggan, originating from Marudi, entered the guilty plea before Magistrate Romario Jonoi. He subsequently settled the fine.
According to the charge sheet, Azrie committed the act on or about July 13, 2026, at a longhouse along Salim Road.
He published an imputation concerning the victim, Laharose Lingu, 55, intending to harm the victim’s reputation.
The charge was framed under Section 499 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 500 of the same Code, which carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to two years, a fine, or both upon conviction.
Based on the facts of the case, the victim was notified by his sibling on July 14 about a viral Facebook post circulating in a group named “ARAM BEKELALA BA WHATSAPP”.
The post displayed screenshots of a WhatsApp exchange containing indecent remarks with a 13-year-old child, falsely alleging that the victim was involved. The content was originally published by an “Anonymous Participant” and later reshared by a Facebook account named “UCHU PENGHULU”.
Denying any involvement and maintaining that the messages were fabricated to tarnish his character, the victim lodged a police report and filed a complaint with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Subsequent technical analysis by MCMC on July 24 confirmed that the account belonged to the accused. Facial recognition cross-checks between National Registration Department records and the profile images yielded similarity matches of up to 86.31 per cent.
On Aug 17, a police team led by Inspector Mohammad Nashriq Noring arrested Azrie in Marudi and seized his Samsung smartphone, which contained the active Facebook account and the defamatory post.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Syazani Izzaddin Abdul Muadzam prosecuted the case while the accused was unrepresented.
