Police seize blogger’s iMac and modem
In his report, Tony Yew alleged that Chan’s tweet contained seditious elements, which directly incited Christians to go against the government.
(Yahoo News/Malaysiakini) – Police raid the home of blogger Chan Lilian in Penang and cart away her 27-inch iMac and a modem as part of their investigations into a tweet she sent last month.
Chan, a videographer, is being investigated under Section 4 (1) of the Sedition Act for her tweet message, as well as Section 27 (5) of the Police Act for allegedly participating in the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur.
If convicted, Chan faces a jail term of up to three years, a fine of not more than RM5,000, or both.
Yesterday, four police officers from the cyber crime unit in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, questioned Chan for about an hour at the Jalan Pattani (northeast district) police headquarters in Penang.
They then went to her house in Tanjung Bungah and spent two hours searching for “evidence”.
They also combed through eight files on her computer, took snapshots of her Twitter account and drew a diagram of her work area.
The police team, which was led by investigating officer ASP Ridzuan Ibrahim, left about 8.30pm with Chan’s iMac and modem.
Asked by journalists about the seizure of Chan’s prized iMac, Ridzuan replied, “No comment!” before slipping into the police car.
Chan was accompanied by lawyer Tham Shien Shyong during her three-hour ordeal.
“This is the price I have to pay for expressing my thoughts,” a calm Chan told reporters later outside her house.
“I maintain that I have no intention of inciting anyone – my tweet is restricted (to 900 members) but its privacy has been abused,” added the mother of four.
Chan, who is a temporary staff with a Penang government unit, vowed that she would not give up tweeting as she has the right to freedom of expression.
“It is regrettable that this has happened. I tweeted as an individual and a blogger, and this has nothing to do with where I work (or my employer),” she said.
