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A 43-year-old woman faces a possible prison sentence of up to one year in Malaysia for spreading a fake marriage certificate on TikTok between herself and the Regent of Johor, Ismail Idris, son of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, the current monarch of the Asian country.
According to the Free Malaysia Today portal, the court hearing the case decided this Wednesday that the woman, charged last June with spreading false messages on the platform, must appear during the trial, which will be held between December 3 and 5.
The court's decision comes after the defendant, who pleads not guilty to the charges, was evaluated by forensic psychiatrists, a process that had been ordered by the judge and lasted for a month.
The fake marriage certificate, explains the state agency Bernama, was published on February 25, using a TikTok account with the name "king.charles.ratu", and speaks of nuptials between the king's son and the "crown princess".
The accusation is based on a law that establishes fines of up to 500,000 ringgits (almost $120,000) and up to a year in prison for those who disseminate obscene, indecent, false, threatening, or offensive messages on any medium or platform.
In October 2023, the Sultan of Johor, Ibrahim Iskandar, was chosen by the royal families of Malaysia as the new king of the predominantly Muslim nation.
The nine sultans or their representatives from Malaysia rotate in the monarch's position every five years. The king, who has a ceremonial role, is seen by the country's Muslims, who represent 60% of about 35 million inhabitants, as the patriarch of the Malay ethnic group.
