PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is investigating the livestream of an attack on a teacher, allegedly by a student, at a school in Kuching, says Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.
The government spokesman and Communications Minister said the investigation would examine issues surrounding the broadcast of the violent incident on social media.
"MCMC is investigating the matter," he told a press conference on Friday (Oct 23).
ALSO READ: MCMC urges individuals to take down videos, images of Kuching school attack
Fahmi said there had been previous incidents in other countries where social media platforms failed to prevent acts of violence from being livestreamed.
He said MCMC would issue a statement once it had conducted its investigation.
The incident occurred on Wednesday (Oct 21), when a 16-year-old student allegedly attacked a female teacher with an axe at an international school in Kuching.
The teacher sustained injuries to her hand, while footage of the incident, which was reportedly livestreamed on Facebook, subsequently circulated on social media.
Police later confirmed that the student had livestreamed the incident and that MCMC had removed the video.
ALSO READ: Kuching cops arrest student for injuring teacher with axe
On Thursday (Oct 22), MCMC urged the public, including media practitioners, to stop sharing the footage, warning that circulating it could affect the privacy, dignity and emotional well-being of those involved.
The commission also said it was working with social media platform providers to curb the spread of the footage and remove related content.
It reminded the public that revealing the identities of children could violate Section 15 of the Child Act 2001, while the dissemination of such content could also be subject to action under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 if it breached the law.
