{
  "id": 11324786,
  "title": "Court of Appeal upholds ex-Umany president's conviction for insulting former UM vice-chancellor",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/court-of-appeal-upholds-ex-umany-presidents-conviction-for-insulting",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T01:16:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/1545942/court-appeal-upholds-ex-umany-presidents-conviction-insulting-former-um"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of former University Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) president Wong Yan Ke for insulting a former Universiti Malaya vice-chancellor. The court emphasized that while freedom of speech is a vital right, it must be exercised responsibly and in accordance with the law. Judge Datuk Noorin Badaruddin stated that Wong had the right to criticize and voice disagreement, but not to disregard the law. The court found no material misdirection of law by the magistrate's court that would warrant interfering with the sentence imposed. Wong was originally fined RM5,000 for his actions during the 59th UM Convocation Ceremony on October 14, 2019. The High Court recently increased this fine to RM10,000, which Wong has already paid.",
  "summary": "PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday advised former University Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) president Wong Yan Ke that while freedom of speech is an important right, it must be exercised in a responsible manner and in accordance with the law.",
  "key_points": [
    "Court of Appeal upholds ex-Umany president's conviction.",
    "Wong Yan Ke fined RM10,000 for insulting former UM vice-chancellor.",
    "Freedom of speech must be exercised responsibly and lawfully."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The ruling sets a precedent that exercising freedom of speech does not exempt individuals from legal accountability, particularly when it comes to criticizing public figures.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}