Malaysia to ask Interpol for help finding comedian who joked about MH370

Ms Chia, who was born in Singapore but lives in the US, sparked a backlash in both Malaysia and Singapore after a video of her performance at a comedy club in New York, in which she joked about MH370, went viral on social media.

During her performance, Ms Chia said Malaysians could not come to Singapore because “their planes cannot fly”. She later clarified that these words were a reference to the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that went missing in 2014 and has yet to be found, according to the South China Morning Post .

“What? Isn’t the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines plane funny?” Ms Chia, who is a lawyer, asked after receiving mixed reactions from the audience at the show. She continued: “This kind of joke is really cool in Singapore.”

Stand-up comedian Jocelyn Chia

Amid the controversy, Malaysian police chief Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani promised on June 13 to file a petition with Interpol for help in the country’s investigation into Chia. He said the actress is being investigated under Malaysia’s criminal code and media law.

"In addition, the police also recorded the suspect's statements on video," Mr. Acryl was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama.

According to Bernama, the police have asked the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to file a case on Ms Chia to assist them in investigating her social media accounts.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, China. The whereabouts of the plane and its 239 passengers and crew remain a mystery, despite an international search effort.

Ms Chia's jokes have drawn angry reactions from both sides of the Malaysia-Singapore border.

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he was "shocked" by the incident and apologized to Malaysians for the offensive behavior. Malaysian counterpart Zambry Abd Kadir said Chia's performance showed a lack of sensitivity and empathy towards Malaysians, the victims of flight MH370 and their loved ones.

In an interview with CNN, Ms. Chia said she had performed “more than 100 times” in the past year and a half without any problems, but admitted that the video lacked necessary context when it was shortened for posting on social media.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/malaysia-se-nho-interpol-giup-truy-tim-dien-vien-hai-dua-cot-ve-vu-mh370-185230613214754934.htm