MP flays the 69 pct who voted in favour of teen dying, MCMC to assist police on possible abetment
KUCHING: Abetting the suicide of a person under the age of 18 is a crime that carries the death sentence or up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine under the Penal Code.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in a statement yesterday said the offence falls under Section 305 of the Penal Code for abetment of suicide of child or insane person.
In a statement issued yesterday, the commission said it is ready to assist the police from a technical aspect in the probe of the suicide of the 16-year-old girl here on Monday, particularly on the alleged abetment of those who had voted for her to end her life in a poll the victim had conducted on Instagram.
“Social media may be a platform for youths to communicate and do useful things, but as responsible netizens, they should be more sensitive towards those having suicidal tendencies and they should lodge a police report.
“Apart from that, they should inform immediate family members and relatives on the ordeal of the person having suicidal tendencies. All these could help in preventing any untoward incident from happening,” the MCMC statement read.
It added that netizens could also report any suspicious online activity, particularly involving cyber bullying, to MCMC by emailing to [email protected], or via WhatsApp on 016-2206262 for further action.
Following the incident in Batu Kawah here, Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh said yesterday he wants the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia to probe the victim’s social media accounts as well as the circumstances that led to her death, to prevent such incidents in the future.
He said he found it disturbing that 69 per cent of those who responded to the teen’s Instagram poll had allegedly supported her in her desire to take her life.
“How some netizens could have actually condoned this is beyond me. Various questions arise from this unfortunate incident.
“Would the girl still be alive today if the majority of netizens on her Instagram account discouraged her from taking her own life? Would she have heeded the advice of netizens to seek professional help had they done so?
“Did the encouragement of those netizens actually influence her decision to take her own life?” he said via a statement.
Ramkarpal added that although it was still too early to determine what exactly happened, it was possible that the girl was suffering from depression and as a result, contemplated suicide.
He stressed that it was important that such incidents be thoroughly investigated and not treated as an isolated case, to prevent recurrence in future.
Echoing the MP’s view, Sarawak lawyer Roger Chin told The Borneo Post said he agreed on the criminality aspect of the case, pointing out that since committing suicide is a crime in Malaysia, those abetting are also liable and should be charged.
He said rather than taking part in the poll, the victim’s Instagram followers should have instead intervened by persuading her to think things through, while at the same time alerting the authorities.
Meanwhile, a Reuters report quoted Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman as calling for a probe into the girl’s death, saying rising suicide rates and mental health issues among young people in the country needed to be taken seriously.
“It is very unfortunate a young life was lost in this manner,” he said.
A UK daily The Guardian quoted Instagram Asia-Pacific head of communications Ching Yee Wong as saying: “Our thoughts and prayers are with this young woman’s family.
“We have a deep responsibility to make sure people using Instagram feel safe and supported. As part of our own efforts, we urge everyone to use our reporting tools and to contact emergency services if they see any behaviour that puts people’s safety at risk.”
In February, Instagram announced that it will launch ‘sensitivity screens’ to block images of self-harm.
The move followed the death of British teenager Molly Russell, whose parents believe saw images of suicide and self-harm on the app before she took her own life in 2017, aged 14.