GRAPHIC artist Fahmi Reza has been freed on police bail after being questioned for three hours over one of his recent works, which poked fun at the government’s Keluarga Malaysia tagline.

Fahmi said on social media this evening that he had been detained since 4pm, and had his mobile phone confiscated, fingerprints and mugshot taken “as if I was a criminal”.

“They wanted my DNA but I refused to let them take it.

“I was ready to spend the next 24 hours in the lockup. But police decided to release me on bail. Pleased to inform that I am not spending the night in lockup,” the activist said on Facebook.

Fahmi was arrested earlier today over a satirical poster he made on Keluarga Malaysia, the tagline of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government.

“I was detained at the Wangsa Maju district police headquarters,” he said on social media, and also posted the satirical poster on Twitter.

When contacted, Fahmi’s lawyer Rajsurian Pillai said Fahmi was being investigated under three laws.

They include Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for the improper use of network facilities, which carries a fine of up to RM50,000, a maximum one year’s jail or both.

Fahmi is also being investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code for insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, which carries a punishment of up to two years, a fine or both.

The third law is under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955. – October 4, 2021.