Is libel a crime?
Internet celebrity fined RM100,000 for insulting netizen as “pig” and defamation
In August 2020, a Malaysian internet celebrity who was live-streaming a cooking session saw a comment from a netizen questioning whether it was feasible to promote weight loss products and eat food during the cooking stream. As a result, the celebrity stopped the cooking stream and spent 8 minutes insulting the netizen, publicly sharing their photo and calling them a pig and fat, among other things.
The netizen was unhappy with the insult and reported the incident to the police, suing the internet celebrity for defamation and demanding compensation of 2 million ringgit. After a trial at the Johor Bahru High Court, the defendant was found guilty of defamation and ordered to pay 100,000 ringgit in compensation for the netizen’s reputation loss.
Is it illegal to insult someone online?
Yes, if the content of the insult constitutes defamation, it can be classified as both civil and criminal offenses. Civil offenses are covered by the Defamation Act 1957, while criminal offenses are covered by Sections 499 to 502 of the Penal Code.
If the insulting video/image/text is deleted, is it still illegal?
Yes, in the above case, the internet celebrity had already deleted the video, but it had been saved and circulated by third parties, causing harm.