Facebook removes Alvin Tan’s page
Facebook has removed the page of blogger Alvin Tan, just a day after he allegedly insulted Muslims by showing a series of pictures where he used a page of the Quran as toilet paper. Tan, who is seeking asylum in the United States, confirmed this on his profile page on the social media site. "My VERIFIED BADGE Facebook Page has been permanently banned," he said, slamming those who had reported his page to Facebook. The 26-year-old controversial blogger had come under fire after posting pictures of him defecating while apparently reading the Quran and using a page of the book as toilet paper. Many Muslims and non-Muslims were outraged at the posting, with many slamming Tan for going overboard in his insults against Islam and warning him that they would lodge reports with Facebook to remove his page. Bernama reported that five police reports have been lodged against Tan in Johor after his latest post. It was reported that police had also received reports on public unhappiness over Tan's provocative action that went viral on social media. His several other previous postings had also outraged Malaysians, including a video of him singing a cover of the Azan, or the sacred Islamic call to prayer. Tan is in Los Angeles, California, after fleeing the country more than a year ago in a move to seek political asylum in the United States. He rose to infamy after he and his former partner Vivian Lee, 25, uploaded a photograph of them on Facebook deemed insulting to Islam in 2013. The former couple are facing criminal charges under Malaysia's Sedition Act as well as the Film Censorship Act for their controversial uploads. Last December, the Immigration Department revoked his Malaysian passport, with its director-general Datuk Mustafa Ibrahim saying that such individuals would not be "tolerated". – November 14, 2015.
