Stalked photographer’s harrowing plight ending as perpetrators facing court charges tomorrow
SHAH ALAM – A famous local photographer’s harrowing plight after being stalked and harassed for eight years is coming to an end as the perpetrator will be taken to court tomorrow.
The 37-year-old man, who had allegedly stalked and sexually harassed Acacia Diana over the span of several years had reportedly sent explicit images of himself and even tracked her to the United Kingdom.
Acacia took it to social platform Twitter to share an update on the positive development about her case but noted that the legal process would be a long one.
“Eight years. Two countries. 16 million views later. @sopert99 will be charged in court on Thursday (August 10, 2023) under Section 507A. Man, 37, to be first person charged under anti-stalking law.
“It’s going to be a long road in the legal process, but I just want to tell other victims out there to file that report, take action and to stay strong,” she said in two subsequent posts.
Acacia also shared a link to the news by English online portal The Star about the case.
She said that she knew she was not in the clear yet but the development was a good step towards the right direction.
Petaling Jaya police chief Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid previously confirmed that the man would be charged in Shah Alam court under the recently enacted Penal Code 507A.
He would be the first individual to face charges under the act, which described stalking as a constant act of harassment meant to or possibly to create distress, alarm, or fear for anyone’s safety.
In a series of tweets in July, Acacia Diana shared her experience of being stalked and sexually harassed by the same man for nearly eight years.
She recounted that the harassment started in 2016 when she was maintaining a travel and project documentation blog and started receiving bizarre comments on her posts.
A year later, Acacia stated that she was approached by a ‘creepy man’ while dining at a restaurant with a friend. He expressed his appreciation for her work.
“I thanked him and asked him to leave us alone,” she tweeted.
She further stated that while she was pursuing studies in the United Kingdom in November, her family informed her that an individual had visited her house and told her father he wished to befriend her.
Diana indicated that during her stay in the UK last December, she discovered that the suspect had followed her there and even enrolled in a class she was attending.
She also alleged that the suspect sent her explicit messages on Instagram, including explicit images of himself masturbating. This harassment has been continuing up until April of this year.
The man was apprehended in the United Kingdom and investigated but was subsequently released on bail. Acacia claimed that the UK police intended to charge him with sexual harassment and stalking, but he left for Malaysia and did not attend his court date.
