The photo in question featured the duo eating pork stew, "bah kuh teh," while greeting fasting Muslims for Ramadan.
The image was construed as highly offensive given the fact that pork is considered haram, or forbidden, to Muslims, and they put a halal, or permissible, logo on the post. Though they claimed they meant the picture to be humorous, it's been perceived as highly disrespectful and provocative given the content of the photo and the occupation of the uploaders, who have a Youtube channel called "Sexcussions with Alvivi" and an erotic blog.
Translation: "Happy Breaking Fast with Bak Kut Teh, aromatic, tasty and appetizing"
Pornography is illegal in both Malaysia and Singapore, where Tan used to be a law student at the National University of Singapore, though he was stripped of his ASEAN scholarship after the public outcry against their X-rated blog.
The Muslim-majority country defines sedition as actions that spread ill will among people of different races, and is considered a serious crime. Tan and Lee have been charged under:
a) Section 5 of the Film Censorship Act 2002 for publishing indecent photographs online between July 6 and 7. If found guilty they can be fined not less than RM10,000 or not more than RM50,000 and or imprisoned for not exceeding five years; b) 298A Penal Code for promoting enmity between different groups of religion or race and doing acts prejudicial to maintaining harmony by publishing an offensive Ramadan greeting which carries a minimum jail term of two years or a maximum of five years; andTan and Lee, 25 and 24 years old respectively, pleaded not guilty to the charges, but will be jailed without bail until their next court date on August 23. They apologized on their Youtube page soon after the incident, saying "We are recording this video to ask for forgiveness for offending Muslims in this holy month of Ramadan," but the authorities are taking their case very seriously, as it casts doubt on the value of free speech in the conservative countries.
c) Section 4(1) (c) of the 1948 Sedition Act for posting seditious material through the offensive greeting which carries fine maximum fine of RM5,000.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday, "The insolent and impudent act by the young couple who insulted Islam showed that freedom of expression and irresponsible opinion can jeopardise the community," according to The Star.
Though they now seem apologetic, their social media trail tells a more convoluted story. Their Facebook and Twitter pages have been shut down, but content was still quoted by news outlets before the pages were killed. They tweeted that their Facebook page had been shut down due to "strong negative feedback," and a cached copy of the page shows a sample of the outraged comments on the photo.
The couple next tweeted defiantly on Saturday, "You may shut us down now but we will be back and be stronger and better than ever. Enjoy your Ramadan for now," according to MSN.
The furor over the photo was heightened by a crime believed to be linked to the issue, according to Malaysia's attorney general, Abdul Gani Patail, who said that an ethnic Chinese man was abducted, stripped, and beaten by a group of men. They inked his chest with the words "I insulted the religion of Islam" in Malay before setting him free.
Patail says that Tan and Lee are being detained because "they have the potential to upload content that could stir public anger." On August 23, a court will decide their fate.
mowale,the 40-year-old man that was allegedly stabbed to death, last
weekend, by some military officers in a viewing centre around Lekki
beach area in Lagos state could have survived if he had received urgent
medical attention after the incident. In fact, it was revealed that the
injured man walked to a nearby hospital, clutching his intestines in
his hands only to be told by nurses that he would not be treated unless
he produced a police report. Crime Alert learnt that after several
pleas for him to receive, at least, first aid treatment pending when
sympathizers who came to the hospital with him will bring the report,
the badly injured man reclined to fate and laid on a pavement
helplessly, waiting for succour.
The late Adebola’s younger brother, Rotimi said that much when he spoke with Crime Alert. “On Saturday at about 10pm, I was at home when a neighbour came to inform me that someone called and told him that my elder brother was stabbed and was at Ife- Oluwa hospital. I called my other brothers and we all rushed to the hospital where we met Adebola lying in front of the hospital, clutching onto his intestine that had bulged out. On seeing me, I noticed he regained some strength. Then I rushed into the hospital and asked the nurses why he was not attended to?
Police report
As we were at that, I figured out they had requested and were apparently waiting for a Police report before they could commence treatment. Just then a Police man arrived with a report and the hospital management requested we carried him in for treatment. As we made to carry him in, Adebola said no body should touch him, that he could walk on his own to the hospital bed, and he did just that. He carefully lifted him self, clutching onto his stomach, he walked slowly to the bed and laid on it, before the initial treatment commenced.
”I went to Jakande Police Station and reported the case. The DCO was around when I got there and she was angry about the incident because she knew Adebola in person, as a matter of fact, he was very popular in this estate. She sent some Police officers to accompany me to the crime scene along Lekki beach road. I want to state here that such incidents have been happening at that joint and when such things happen, people there would see it but would be scared to report the incidents to the Police. It was at the crime scene we heard that the man who stabbed my brother was a military man.
”The owner of that particular bar engaged the service of military officers to intimidate people in the area, that is why they can not talk. When that incident was happening, some other people were there, but nobody could talk because they knew when the case was settled, the soldiers would come back for them. We also learnt that after he was stabbed, Adebola walked all the way to the hospital, clutching onto his stomach.
The distance was like from Jakande to Chisco bus-stop, and because he was breathing as he walked, his intestine got swollen. It was passersby who saw him, that called our neighbour on phone, and he in turn came to the house and informed us.Back at the hospital, the doctor told us that he would be transferred to the General hospital at Marina as soon as possible, because the hospital could not afford to keep him for long, owing to the magnitude of the injury.
“Since my car could not start, I called one of our family friends and explained the situation to him, he rushed to Ife – Oluwa hospital around 12am and we took Adebola to the General hospital at Marina in his car. On getting to the Emergency Unit of the hospital at about 1am, I had to run around for the routine procedures of getting him a card and other required payments.
After that, the doctor on duty came and examined him, he asked us if he was still alive, we answered in the affirmative. The doctor talked to him, he responded. Then we were ordered to carry him inside the ward, again my brother said no body should touch him, that he could walk to the ward, he gently lifted him self, got up, walked slowly into the ward and laid on the bed.
The doctor wrote out some drugs that we should buy, I embarked on another round of running around, making payments, getting a receipt and going back to get the drugs; I was given 10 packs of drip with the drugs, which I took back to the ward. It was after this that they commenced treatments on Adebola. The doctor also told us that we need to get some pints of blood, but that would be as later on.
“I left the hospital at about 1:30am with Papa, after he dropped the sum of N5,000 in respect to purchasing some blood if the need arises, while one of my brothers stayed behind. I was so exhausted, that I slept off as soon as I got home and didn’t hear when my phone rang repeatedly. Around 5:30 – 6am, I woke up to answer to a knock at the door and was a bit confused when I saw the brother whom we left to be with Adebola at the hospital, he told me they called my number a couple of times but there was no response, hence he had to rush home. He said our brother Adebola gave up the fight to survive around 5:30am,” he stated.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/r-e-v-e-l-e-d-untold-story-man-stabbed-death-viewing-centre/#sthash.xqF2JuLy.dpuf
The late Adebola’s younger brother, Rotimi said that much when he spoke with Crime Alert. “On Saturday at about 10pm, I was at home when a neighbour came to inform me that someone called and told him that my elder brother was stabbed and was at Ife- Oluwa hospital. I called my other brothers and we all rushed to the hospital where we met Adebola lying in front of the hospital, clutching onto his intestine that had bulged out. On seeing me, I noticed he regained some strength. Then I rushed into the hospital and asked the nurses why he was not attended to?
Police report
As we were at that, I figured out they had requested and were apparently waiting for a Police report before they could commence treatment. Just then a Police man arrived with a report and the hospital management requested we carried him in for treatment. As we made to carry him in, Adebola said no body should touch him, that he could walk on his own to the hospital bed, and he did just that. He carefully lifted him self, clutching onto his stomach, he walked slowly to the bed and laid on it, before the initial treatment commenced.
”I went to Jakande Police Station and reported the case. The DCO was around when I got there and she was angry about the incident because she knew Adebola in person, as a matter of fact, he was very popular in this estate. She sent some Police officers to accompany me to the crime scene along Lekki beach road. I want to state here that such incidents have been happening at that joint and when such things happen, people there would see it but would be scared to report the incidents to the Police. It was at the crime scene we heard that the man who stabbed my brother was a military man.
”The owner of that particular bar engaged the service of military officers to intimidate people in the area, that is why they can not talk. When that incident was happening, some other people were there, but nobody could talk because they knew when the case was settled, the soldiers would come back for them. We also learnt that after he was stabbed, Adebola walked all the way to the hospital, clutching onto his stomach.
The distance was like from Jakande to Chisco bus-stop, and because he was breathing as he walked, his intestine got swollen. It was passersby who saw him, that called our neighbour on phone, and he in turn came to the house and informed us.Back at the hospital, the doctor told us that he would be transferred to the General hospital at Marina as soon as possible, because the hospital could not afford to keep him for long, owing to the magnitude of the injury.
“Since my car could not start, I called one of our family friends and explained the situation to him, he rushed to Ife – Oluwa hospital around 12am and we took Adebola to the General hospital at Marina in his car. On getting to the Emergency Unit of the hospital at about 1am, I had to run around for the routine procedures of getting him a card and other required payments.
After that, the doctor on duty came and examined him, he asked us if he was still alive, we answered in the affirmative. The doctor talked to him, he responded. Then we were ordered to carry him inside the ward, again my brother said no body should touch him, that he could walk to the ward, he gently lifted him self, got up, walked slowly into the ward and laid on the bed.
The doctor wrote out some drugs that we should buy, I embarked on another round of running around, making payments, getting a receipt and going back to get the drugs; I was given 10 packs of drip with the drugs, which I took back to the ward. It was after this that they commenced treatments on Adebola. The doctor also told us that we need to get some pints of blood, but that would be as later on.
“I left the hospital at about 1:30am with Papa, after he dropped the sum of N5,000 in respect to purchasing some blood if the need arises, while one of my brothers stayed behind. I was so exhausted, that I slept off as soon as I got home and didn’t hear when my phone rang repeatedly. Around 5:30 – 6am, I woke up to answer to a knock at the door and was a bit confused when I saw the brother whom we left to be with Adebola at the hospital, he told me they called my number a couple of times but there was no response, hence he had to rush home. He said our brother Adebola gave up the fight to survive around 5:30am,” he stated.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/r-e-v-e-l-e-d-untold-story-man-stabbed-death-viewing-centre/#sthash.xqF2JuLy.dpuf
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