Lawyers condemn the arrest of teens over TikTok video, say it could cause mental trauma
SHAH ALAM - Law experts criticised the arrest of two teenagers in connection with a viral video showing a high school student expressing his dissatisfaction with this year’s Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) History exam paper.
Lawyer Dinesh Muthal said the SPM students shouldn't have been arrested as he believed they lacked social media awareness.
"The move to arrest those students was not the right thing to do. They simply lack awareness on social media, for them, it's just a 'rant' over an exam paper.
"They didn't have any intention to cause disharmony or any form of damage," he told Sinar Daily.
Therefore, Dinesh said the issue should have just been kept within the school without involving the police.
"Disciplinary actions could have been sufficient to punish the students. The action of arresting these students could have been avoided as the students were still sitting for other SPM papers.
"This could easily cause mental trauma to the students.
"With the students getting arrested in the middle of SPM, can you guarantee that they will be in the right state of mind to sit for the subsequent exams," he questioned.
Last week, a video went viral on social media showing students uttering insults after allegedly being upset with the questions in the SPM History subject.
They ended up getting arrested by the police after receiving a report from a female teacher.
Expressing similar sentiments, Lawyer Datuk M Reza Hassan said 'ranting' over exam papers was common in schools.
He also said the authorities should have used some discretion.
"We are lucky because many years ago, there was no social media, but I'm sure 99 per cent of students must have done the same thing (rant over a difficult paper) because students, that is how young adults are. They complain about everything. It is quite common.
"For authorities to take such a drastic action, it is simply uncalled for and highly questionable. Why waste so much trouble and valuable resources over a petty rant? The authorities should have exercised some sort of discretion," he reasoned.
Meanwhile, Lawyer Alex Anton Netto said sometimes, when exercising discretion, it is probably prudent for the police to weigh the pros and cons of such moves (arresting the students).
"The power to arrest and to keep someone under remand is the prerogative accorded to the police.
"That is their right to exercise as they see fit. "I am not privy to the full facts here, but in my opinion, the investigation could have been carried out without the need for arresting the said individuals," he said.
