Malaysian couple charged with anti-Islam soup post

18 July 2013 - 13:14
By Sapa-dpa
A soup spoon
Image: Donovan Govan A soup spoon

A Malaysian couple was charged for posting online a Ramadan greeting that allegedly mocked Islam and its holy month of fasting.

The picture on the social networking website Facebook showed Alvin Tan Jye Yee, 25, and his partner Vivian Lee May Ling, 24, eating apparently pork rib soup, with the caption "fragrant, delicious and appetising," in Malay.

But the photo also carried the round logo used to indicate products that are halal, or permitted to Muslims, in Malaysia.

The two were charged with committing acts likely to cause feeling of enmity on grounds of religion.

Pork is forbidden under Islam and the couple has since apologised for the posting, saying it was meant to be a joke.

Approximately 61 per cent of Malaysia's 29 million people profess to the Islamic faith, with 20 per cent Buddhist, 9 per cent Christian, and around 6 per cent Hindu.