Three held under ISA for rumour email

[jeffooi]

THE STAR
Wednesday, December 18, 2002

<font size="+1">Two held for circulating rumours on the Internet</font>

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested two persons under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly circulating rumours of pre-planned bombings in various public areas in the city through the Internet.

Deputy City police chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Ahmad Bahrin Idrus said following a police report lodged by the Australian High Commission last Saturday, police arrested a 40-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman yesterday.

SAC Ahmad Bahrin said the two were picked up at a firm here and seized two computers believed to be used to send out the e-mail.

“The two, both locals, were arrested under Section 28 of the ISA for circulating false information that could lead to public unrest in the country,” he told reporters at the city police contingent in Jalan Hang Tuah here.

SAC Ahmad Bahrin said the e-mail talked about several bombings that would occur in public locations such as major shopping complexes, recreational parks and tourist spots here in mid-December.

He warned that police would not hesitate to take action against those who had forwarded such e-mails after receiving them and advised the public not to believe them.

“Don’t listen to such rumours. We are continuously monitoring the situation and are always on guard to ensure peace and stability,’’ he said, adding that such malicious e-mails were still being circulated in cyberspace.

SAC Ahmad Bahrin advised those who received such e-mails to lodge a police report and not forward them as they would be found guilty of breaking the law if caught.

He said police were investigating the motive of the two suspects in sending such e-mails, adding that they were believed to have circulated them two weeks ago.

The arrest of the two is the second time police had gone after rumour-mongers online, with the first case in 1998 when four people were arrested.

The four had circulated rumours that illegal foreign workers had bought parangs and knives to confront the authorities conducting operations to arrest them following a deadline for employers to renew work permits for their foreign workers.


SOURCE:
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/12/18/nation/ayisacyber&sec=nation

[jeffooi]

UTUSAN ONLINE
Khamis, 19, Disember 2002

Sebar berita palsu:
Seorang lagi pekerja swasta ditahan bawah ISA

KUALA LUMPUR 18 Dis. - Polis menahan seorang lagi kakitangan sebuah syarikat swasta di bawah Seksyen 28 Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) kerana disyaki terlibat menyebarkan berita palsu yang boleh menimbulkan perasaan cemas kepada orang awam melalui e-mel, pertengahan bulan ini.

Ini menjadikan mereka yang ditahan di bawah seksyen tersebut kerana kesalahan berkenaan meningkat kepada tiga orang dan beberapa lagi tangkapan akan dilakukan.

Timbalan Ketua Polis Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Ahmad Bahrin Idrus ketika mengesahkan perkara itu kepada Utusan Malaysia hari ini berkata, lelaki berusia 35 tahun itu ditahan di pejabatnya di Petaling Jaya dekat sini pada pukul 5 petang semalam.

Katanya, lelaki itu ditangkap kira-kira enam jam selepas polis menahan dua orang rakannya di ibu negara sebelum itu.

Polis turut merampas sebuah komputer yang dipercayai digunakan oleh lelaki terbabit untuk menyebarkan e-mel palsu tersebut.

Dalam perkembangan yang sama, Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Norian Mai berkata, polis akan membuat beberapa lagi tangkapan di beberapa bandar berhubung kegiatan itu.

...Norian berkata, pihaknya belum mengenal pasti punca e-mel berkenaan dan usaha menjejakinya sedang dijalankan.

Beliau bagaimanapun tidak menolak kemungkinan sumber e-mel tersebut adalah dari luar negara.

...Ahmad Bahrin berkata, ...dua daripada mereka yang ditahan bagaimanapun telah dibebaskan dengan ikat jamin pada hari ini.

"Dua orang yang ditahan pada pukul 11.20 pagi semalam sudah dibebaskan dengan ikat jamin. Bagaimanapun, mereka kemungkinan akan dipanggil semula untuk didakwa sekiranya perlu bergantung kepada hasil siasatan nanti,'' katanya.

Mengulas lanjut mengenai tangkapan terbaru itu, beliau berkata, lelaki yang ditahan itu turut dikenakan tindakan di bawah Seksyen 28 ISA.

Menurut beliau, jika disabit kesalahan lelaki tersebut boleh dikenakan hukuman mengikut Seksyen 44A akta yang sama iaitu penjara selama setahun atau denda tidak kurang RM1,000 atau kedua-duanya sekali.


FULL STORY:
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2002&dt=1219&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Muka_Hadapan&pg=mh_02.htm

[jeffooi]

AFP at Malaysiakini.com
3:58pm Thu Dec 19th, 2002

Police arrest seven over Internet terror rumours

The police today said they had arrested six women and a man for allegedly sending e-mails to the Australian High Commission and other Internet addresses warning of bomb attacks on major shopping centres here.

...The e-mails claimed that terrorists were planning to bomb major shopping complexes patronised by both locals and foreigners. -- AFP

FULL STORY:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/200212190018634.php

[jeffooi]

THE STAR
Saturday, December 21, 2002

Cops pinpoint e-mail source to neighbouring country
By BERNARD SEE and NELSON BENJAMIN

PENANG: Police have narrowed down the source of the e-mail containing allegations of pre-planned bombings in several places in the city to its author in a neighbouring country.

Sources said by tracing the IP (Internet Protocol) address from the forwarded e-mail, police from Bukit Aman had ascertained where it came from.

Bukit Aman will request the help of its counterpart in the neighbouring country to obtain the particulars of the author.

The author, who identified himself only as Jeremy, in his e-mail had asked recipients to forward the e-mail to as many people as possible.

Sources said police investigations showed his e-mail had been forwarded to numerous recipients as far as the United States and Britain.

Meanwhile, a check by Kuala Lumpur police showed that at least six of the 10 persons arrested over the past few days for allegedly spreading rumours of the pre-planned bombings over the Internet are working in the IT (information technology) sector and are professionals attached to several American-based multinational companies.

Among those arrested from the companies in Bayan Lepas here were computer programmers, an engineer, a human resources officer, a secretary and an administrative staff.

All have since been released on bail. They were arrested under Section 28 of the Internal Security Act following a report on Dec 14 lodged by a security officer attached to the Australian High Commission a week ago who was one of the recipients.

On Thursday, police picked up a female computer programmer and a male sales engineer at their homes here.

The 26-year-old woman was nabbed at a flat at 7pm in Macallum Street while the 25-year-old man was picked up in Tanjong Tokong by a Kuala Lumpur police team about two hours later.

Earlier, five women, aged between 23 and 38, were picked up from three factories at the Free Industrial Zone in Bayan Lepas.

Three others including two women were arrested in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya on Tuesday.

It is learnt that several personal computers and other peripherals such as diskettes used to forward the e-mail to their friends were seized as evidence.


SOURCE:
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/12/21/nation/bscakap&sec=nation

[jeffooi]

<font size="+1">Can the Internet Service Provider give you away to the law?</font>

THE SUNDAY MAIL
Sunday, December 22, 2002

No breach of privacy
Baidura Ahmad and Meera Murugesan

Sunday Mail's checks reveal that ISPs can be requested by enforcement agencies, such as police, to reveal a suspected subscriber's data.

A spokesman from TM Net Sdn Bhd said in accordance with the Content Code of the Communications and Multimedia Act from the Communications and Multimedia Commission, ISPs are innocent carriers of information and do not divulge subscribers data freely.

"However, in accordance to the other laws enforced by the Home Ministry, ISPs can be requested by enforcement agencies to reveal a suspected subscriber's data." The spokesman said the company has the responsibility to assist and facilitate any investigations by the police or government enforcement unit pertaining to national security.

"In this case, TM Net assisted the police by tracking down the e-mail senders and recipients as well as allowing the officers to go through our server log file.

"Upon instruction, TM Net can also bar and blacklist its users if found guilty as written in the users' Terms & Conditions," says the spokesman.

Asked whether the release of a subscriber's data would constitute a violation of privacy, the spokesman said users had earlier agreed to the terms and conditions of the service which allows an ISP to comply with the laws of Malaysia at all times.

Furthermore, ISPs do not release all the information about subscribers. Only pertinent details such as user's name, address and means of contact that are required by the authorities.

TM Net assured its users that it respects the customers' agreements at all times and also respect and comply with Malaysian laws.

The spokesman said as an ISP, TM Net treats all mail alike. As such, he advised users and recipients of dubious mail to recheck the authenticity of the content.

"It is similar to recipients of poison-pen letters," he added.

To trace the source of an e-mail, the police present the ISPs with a complete printout of the suspected e-mail. The respective ISPs will then check their audit trail records and accounting databases, which store details about the account holder (name, address, identity card number, etc).

With this information, the account used to send the e-mail can be easily identified. For example, in the landmark Internet rumour-mongering case in 1998 which alleged that Indonesian workers' were rioting in Chow Kit, it took only two personnel from Mimos, the ISP for Jaring users, less than five minutes to trace the source of the e-mail.

As a result, four people were arrested.

In the latest case, six women and a company director have been picked up since last Tuesday under Section 28 of the ISA for allegedly spreading rumours over the Internet on impending terrorist attacks in Kuala Lumpur.

...Malaysia is not alone in using laws to prevent abuse of the Internet by allowing ISPs to carry out Internet audit trail when the situation calls for it.

The German authorities have also taken actions against Internet Service Providers for housing of paedophiles' websites and in the US, after September 11, actions which were previously considered unconstitutional, such as conducting audit trail on suspected terrorists, have been overruled in the name of national security.


FULL STORY:
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Sunday/National/20021222112734