Mum Of Bullied Teen Calls For Action On Tiktok Cyberbullies

---

She says cyberbullying on TikTok has become increasingly common, with several Malaysians taking their own lives as a result.
An influencer wants the authorities to act against the perpetrators of cyber-bullying on TikTok, saying it has taken a serious emotional toll on her daughter who attempted suicide recently.PETALING JAYA: A TikTok influencer whose daughter attempted suicide after being targeted in a cyberbullying campaign by troll accounts is pleading for the authorities to take action
Speaking to FMT on condition of anonymity, the influencer said cyberbullying on TikTok has become increasingly common – with several Malaysians taking their own lives after becoming victims of constant harassment.
She said she has faced online harassment since last year, which escalated when trolls targeted her daughter and launched personal attacks on her family.
The harassment took a serious emotional toll on the influencer’s daughter, who, after being pressured by her college peers about the claims against her family, attempted to end her life by ingesting psychiatric pills on Aug 13.
She was rushed to a hospital in Klang.
According to the influencer, she filed a police report the following day, detailing her daughter’s suicide attempt and hospitalisation.
“She is now doing better after undergoing psychiatric treatment twice. However, she has stopped going to college following the ordeal,” said the influencer.
“It’s not just my daughter… They (cyberbullies) threatened to pour acid on me and to kill my husband, which are acts of criminal intimidation — yet no action has been taken.
“Lives have been lost to cyberbullying (on TikTok) but this problem can be resolved if the police acted on the perpetrators.”
The influencer said she was disappointed that no arrests have been made despite the Penal Code’s “Esha clause” coming into force last December.
The Esha clause refers to Section 507D of the Penal Code, which criminalises threatening, insulting or harassing words or actions intended to provoke self-harm or harm to others.
The clause was named to honour the memory of social media influencer A Rajeswary, better known as Esha.
The 29-year-old was found dead at her home in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, on July 5 last year, a day after she filed a police report stating that she was being harassed on TikTok.
Pleading for minister’s intervention
Separately, a human rights activist has urged women, family and community development minister Nancy Shukri to intervene following relentless cyberbullying, defamation and false accusations she has faced since serving as a witness in Rajeswary’s case.
“My mental health has deteriorated under this unending pressure, and my family has become the target of malicious online attacks, causing great distress and fear for our safety,” she said in an e-mail to the minister on Oct 30, sighted by FMT.
She added that other key witnesses linked to the case are also being harassed online, with their names tied to false stories and subjected to threatening and vulgar remarks. However, no action has been taken despite multiple reports to the police and other authorities.
The activist noted that perpetrators can simply create new fake accounts after bans, and content moderation for harmful material in Tamil remains “dangerously weak”.
Calling on Nancy to engage TikTok and other platforms to improve moderation in Tamil and remove live streams facilitating abuse, she also requested a meeting with the minister to present all the evidence she has gathered.
“I humbly seek your urgent intervention: immediate protective measures for myself and others connected to the case, including a review of witness protection protocols,” she wrote in the email.
“I truly believe that justice delayed is justice denied.”
Nancy confirmed to FMT receipt by her office of the activist’s e-mail. The minister said she has reached out to the office of communications minister Fahmi Fadzil to highlight the urgency of the matter.
These two cyberbullying cases are among eight police reports filed by rights group Global Human Rights Federation and other individuals since May detailing harassment, online doxxing, and physical threats on TikTok by troll accounts. - FMT

---