By Fadley Faisal
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, OCT 18 – A 23-year-old Thai woman was fined $1,000 by a magistrate’s court yesterday after pleading guilty to causing public disturbance and violating the privacy of students and staff at a local school, by posting a video on Tiktok.
Sumaiyah Daraso, who claims to not have a permanent job here in Brunei, will have to serve a month in jail if she fails to pay the fine.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Siti Khalillah Hussin and Nur Ruzana Adnan revealed that Sumaiyah had uploaded a video on October 11 showing students leaving the school premises, complete with captions and background audio.
The video in question, which was posted publicly on his Tiktok account, also showed the faces of the students and the vehicle they were riding in.
Although he later deleted the video, it was downloaded and shared widely on other Tiktok accounts, going viral. The case was reported to the Royal Brunei Police Force, which led to his prosecution under Section 268 of the Penal Code, Chapter 22, for committing an act causing a disturbance.
Regarding the sentence handed down, Magistrate Haji Normazdina Haji Md Maskub considered the allegations that the incident caused serious concern, stressing that students and staff should have the assurance and peace of mind of anonymity as they go about their daily school activities.
Fines should be imposed to reflect the seriousness of the offense and prevent it from happening in the future.
