Malaysia has sought Interpol's help in tracking down a New York-based comedian for her joke on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, reported BBC. The comedian, identified as Jocelyn Chia, a US national who grew up in Singapore. She is under scanner for cracking a joke on flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 while going from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to Beijing. BBC reported that she is being probed under laws related to incitement and offensive online content, police say.
Her joke, posted online last week, erupted an official protest in Malaysia and prompted an apology by Singapore.
Despite a four-year intense search in the Indian Ocean, the main body of the plane was never found. All 239 people on board are presumed dead.
On Tuesday, Malaysian national police chief Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said that an application was going to be filed with Interpol to get Chia's "full identity" and "latest location", stated the BBC report.
The controversy began after she posted a clip of her recent stand-up set at Manhattan's Comedy Cellar venue. The joke was aimed at the historic rivalry between Singapore and Malaysia.
She said that Malaysian airplanes "cannot fly" noting Singapore had risen to be a "first-world country" while Malaysia remained "developing".
She reportedly said: "Malaysian Airlines going missing not funny huh? Some jokes don't land."
The video created a massive uproar in Malaysia and was removed from TikTok citing a violation of its hate-speech guidelines.
According to BBC, Singapore's ambassador to Malaysia said Chia did not speak for Singaporeans. Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's foreign minister, also condemned her "horrendous statements".
Defending herself, as per the report, Chia told CNN that she had performed the routine "more than 100 times" without any problems. She said that she stands by the joke and that the clip had been taken out of context.