SHAH ALAM: A former freelance designer today became the first-ever person to be charged with stalking under the new Section 507A of the Penal Code.
Mohd Safiq Rosli, 37, pleaded not guilty before magistrate Sasha Diana Sabtu to repeatedly harassing photographer Acacia Mardiana Daud, 31.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of three-year imprisonment and a fine.
Sasha ordered the accused to be sent to Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak for a mental evaluation upon the request of deputy public prosecutor Zilfinaz Abbas.
The court has fixed Sep 7 for mention.
Safiq allegedly stalked and sexually harassed the photographer for years, sending her lewd photographs of himself and even followed her to the United Kingdom.
The court had granted Acacia a protection order until the conclusion of the trial through the request of her watching brief, lawyer Jason Wee.
According to the charge sheet, Safiq allegedly repeatedly harassed Acacia by sending messages on her Twitter/X account @ShaFoShizzle from his account @sopert99 when he should've known that it would incite fear in her, hence making it a stalking offence.
The messages sent from July 15 at 1.40am to July 21 at 5.58pm, which contained his expressions of love, was read on a premises in Shah Alam.
Zilfinaz has proposed no bail for the accused as he had evaded the authorities when he was being investigated for harassment in the UK.
The accused had also failed to make a court appearance in the UK on June 2 as he fled to Malaysia.
She said Safiq was also blacklisted from the UK.
Lawyer Fithril Hakim Ab Jalil did not dispute the bail and the observation request at Hospital Bahagia.
Sasha said the bail amount would be decided after the one-month observation period at Hospital Bahagia.
Meanwhile, Wee said Acacia had requested a protection order to avoid further harassment from the accused and safety concerns.
The request was made to restrain the accused from going anywhere near the victim or any person related or associated with the victim and to restrict any form of communication until the conclusion of the proceedings.
It was reported that the accused allegedly stalked and sexually harassed Acacia for years.
Acacia had, in social media postings, revealed her ordeal, which started in 2016 when her blog on her travels and projects started to receive weird comments.
She said the stalker had created more than 30 social media accounts over the years to harass her, including sending lewd photos to her via direct message on Instagram.
She claimed that the suspect also sent her direct messages on Instagram of himself masturbating.
She said he was arrested in the UK but released on bail while police investigated the case.
She claimed that the police there had intended to charge him with sexual harassment and stalking, but he left for Malaysia and did not turn up in court.
She said the suspect continued to harass her by sending her pictures of his private parts since April.
Safiq has been held at the neurology ward of Hospital Kuala Lumpur since last month.