Interpol’s assistance is being sought by Malaysia’s police chief to track down Jocelyn Chia, a New York-based, Singapore-born comedian whose joke concerning the lacking MH370 flight has sparked outrage and led to diplomatic apologies. Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani announced the decision to request Interpol’s assist in the continuing investigation.
Chia, a former lawyer believed to have turn into a US citizen, is being investigated underneath Malaysian laws regarding intentional insult, provocation, and incitement. The controversy began when she posted a clip from her stand-up routine on social media, using the disappearance of MH370 as a punchline.
The Boeing 777 vanished in 2014 en path to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew members on board. Although believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, the aircraft has by no means been found, regardless of items of particles washing up on Indian Ocean and jap African seashores.
The joke was met with shock and dismay in Malaysia. Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir expressed that Chia demonstrated a “total lack of sensitivity and empathy in the course of Malaysians and victims’ families”. Child’s play described Chia’s statements as “horrendous”, and High Commissioner Vanu Gopala Menon labelled her routine at New York’s Comedy Cellar “gratuitously offensive”. Menon added that Singapore “does not condone phrases or actions that cause harm or hurt to others”, and that Chia, not a Singaporean, doesn’t represent their views..