JOHOR BARU, March 6 ― Police have initiated investigations against a Singapore-based news portal for falsely linking the Tunku Mahkota of Johor, Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, to a political issue recently.
Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Khalil Kader Mohd said the investigation started after receiving a report on the allegedly false and slanderous news article linking the state’s crown prince to a political issue by Singapore’s The Independent at 12.15am today.
“Initial investigations revealed that the news portal’s administrator had removed the said article.
“We have started investigations under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for improper use of network facilities,” he said in a statement.
Mohd Khalil also warned any online site and portal administrators to check on their content sources as to determine accuracy before publishing.
“The Johor police will not compromise on any administrators who publish or write articles that are false, offensive and touch on sensitivities,” he said.
Earlier today, the Johor Council of Royal Court had condemned the said article from the Singaporean news portal for linking Tunku Ismail with an ongoing political issue.
Its president Datuk Abdul Rahim Ramli said the news portal had manipulated quotes attributed to Tunku Mahkota Johor on the recent remarks by minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz against billionaire tycoon Robert Kuok.
