KUANTAN: A van driver was charged in the Sessions Court today with disseminating fake news on social media which led to riot at the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP) here on July 11.
Mohd Shaiful Adhar Mohd Shukor, 30, from Taman Ria II, pleaded not guilty before judge Siti Aminah Ghazali.
He was charged with uploading an article on Facebook which read “A Muslim lorry driver is believed to have been beaten in front of Gate 1, MCKIP. The lorry driver was hit with iron. The victim is believed to be from Felda Cheneh. The reason behind the attack by the China people is yet to be known but the victim is said to be in a critical condition. Those with information can share it with us and the information will be kept confidential. Take care of your safety. Genuine information can be shared. The majority of the Chinese workers there are prisoners."
The false information was allegedly spread about 10.07pm on July 10 to hurt or disturb others.
Shaiful faced a second charge of uploading another message which read “Referring to yesterday’s story, the information received from a reliable source that a MCKIP Gebeng worker from China has been slashed to death... playing with the Malay gangs especially lorry drivers... face the consequences”.
The accused who was clad in a black T-shirt allegedly committed the offence at about 11.51pm on July 11.
The charges, under Section 233 (1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia (MCMC) Act 1998 provide a maximum fine of RM50,000, or imprisonment up to a year, or both.
Siti Aminah set bail at RM10,000 for both charges and fixed Aug 20 for mention to allow the accused to appoint a lawyer to represent him in the trial.