Ana Masere warned to follow court order on TikTok use

Ana Masere has been warned by the High Court to comply with a relaxation order governing her use of TikTok, limiting posts to content related to the Hope Carnival.

The 40-year-old appeared before High Court judge Justice Sunil Sharma in Lautoka today.

She is accused of posting a video on TikTok containing derogatory comments about another woman.

Masere faces two counts of causing harm by posting electronic communication under the Online Safety Act and two counts of insulting or annoying a person under the Crimes Act.

She is represented by Zahra Fatima, while the State is represented by Joeli Naivalu.

On the first call, the court gave the accused 14 days to take her plea. The State indicated disclosures and substantive matters were pending. The matter was adjourned to April 4.

The second call dealt with an application for the release of an item held as evidence and compliance with court orders on social media access.

The State said a complete Cybercrime Scene Investigation (CSI) report and case file were required before any evidence could be released, and sought a 21-day extension to allow investigators to finalise documentation.

The State also asked the court to warn the accused to strictly comply with the relaxation order, which allows limited access to a business TikTok account solely to promote the Hope Carnival.

Naivalu said the relaxation permitted Masere to access an Events Fiji business TikTok account only for carnival promotion.

He said the issue was raised to avoid further applications and asked the court to caution the accused to respect the terms of the order.

“Because I have access to TikTok and I am seeing a tendency of disrespect, I ask the court to warn Masere to only post content that promotes the Hope Carnival,” he said.

Justice Sharma warned that any breach would result in immediate revocation of the relaxation and possible further consequences.

He stressed the importance of complying with court orders.

“My order is very clear and must be followed. Do you understand? If I receive any application from the State regarding breaches of my orders, I will take action,” Justice Sharma said.

“I will immediately revoke all the relaxation granted. Any breach of court orders is taken very seriously. My orders are specific and clear. Read them again.”

The matter was adjourned to April 16.