PETALING JAYA: The father of deceased activist and social media influencer Rajeswary Appahu (pic) does not want a repeat of the tragedy which happened to his daughter.
P. Appahu said the onus was now on the government to formulate a new law to prevent such incidents from reoccurring.
“My daughter was tormented and harassed on TikTok with lewd abuse and threats by a large group of people.
“This should not happen to anyone else,” he said.
The temple caretaker and gardener added that although he had little education, he understood the need for a new law with a stiff penalty to deter people from practising thuggery and gangsterism on social media.
“She was my youngest child and the only one who was well-educated.
“I have suffered a great loss. I want a law that will deal with social media thugs accordingly,’’ Appahu said.
He added that the incident involving his daughter was not the usual type of bullying but something that was far more serious and dangerous.
Rajeswary had fallen victim to harassment by a group of people well known for their alleged thuggery on TikTok.
The group, comprising men and women, allegedly carry out their bullying antics both online and offline.
Their alleged modus operandi is also to give out victims’ phone numbers and addresses to followers in order to continue with the harassment.
There are also allegations that some social media entrepreneurs engage the gang of bullies to troll, humiliate and frighten their business rivals.
“All of these actions must be stopped,” Appahu said.
Meanwhile, Sentul police chief ACP Ahmad Sukarno Mohd Zahari said yesterday that the prime suspect in Rajeswary’s case was arrested on Wednesday evening at an undisclosed location in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur.
He said the 44-year-old suspect, a lorry driver, had gone into hiding after getting wind that the police were after him.
“We managed to trace his whereabouts following investigations. The suspect is now in custody under a four-day remand order.
“We are confident of wrapping up the case by the end of this week and will hand over our findings to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) for further action,” he told The Star.
On Monday, a 35-year-old female suspect was the first to be arrested in Rawang, Selangor, to assist in investigation into Rajeswary’s death.
The woman, who is also an active TikTok user, was remanded for three days and the order was further extended by two days on Wednesday.
The case is being investigated for criminal intimidation under Section 506 of the Penal Code, misuse of network facilities under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and provocation with indecent words or gestures under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955.
ACP Ahmad Sukarno urged those with information relating to the case to call Insp Kumaran Krishnan at 010-909 3726 or the Sentul police headquarters at 03-4048 2222.
