Malaysian police ‘to seek Interpol help’ over Singapore-born comedian Jocelyn Chia’s MH370 joke

As row into Chia’s quip about missing flight refuses to die down, police chief says Interpol application will be submitted to help find her

Some on Malaysian social media, though, say hounding of Chia has gone far enough, accusing police of wasting time and politicians of using storm for their own gain

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Comedian Joselyn Chia performing in California. File photo: Getty Images

Published: 6:36pm, 13 Jun 2023Updated: 9:30pm, 13 Jun 2023

Malaysia’s police will seek the help of Interpol to locate comedian Jocelyn Chia, state media reported on Tuesday, as the outcry engulfing the Singapore-born comic over a quip she made about missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 refused to abate.

Chia, who is based in the US, triggered backlash in Malaysia and Singapore after a clip she posted of her stand-up routine at a New York comedy club involving a joke about the plane went viral on social media.

In her skit, the lawyer-turned comedian said Malaysians cannot visit Singapore because their “aeroplanes cannot fly”, a remark she clarified was a reference to the disappearance of MH370 in 2014.

“What? Malaysian Airlines’ plane going missing not funny huh?” Chia asked after getting mixed reactions from the audience. “This joke kills in Singapore.”

Malaysia’s police chief Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani joined the furore on Tuesday promising to submit an application to Interpol to facilitate their probe into Chia, who he said is being investigated under his country’s penal code and communications law.

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Singaporean comedian faces backlash for joke about missing Malaysia flight MH370

“Besides that, the police have also made a transcript of the suspect’s speech in the video,” Acryl was quoted as saying by national newswire Bernama.