Trial By Media Is Not Justice
Presumption of innocence must prevail — trial by press conference is not justice.
Prof Dr Ng Wee Kiong (黄伟强教授), founder and president of the Association of International Certified Aesthetician (AICA), has been charged in the Kuala Lumpur courts with eight counts under Section 420 of the Penal Code relating to alleged cheating between 2022 and 2025. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on bail. The matter is scheduled for further mention.
This is a criminal process that will be decided by evidence tested in court, not by the content of a May 2026 press conference convened by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong (张天赐) together with alleged victims. At that event, claims were made of a “fake and illegal” aesthetic training programme, purported misuse of Universiti Malaya credentials and names, and significant financial losses suffered by participants. Police reports followed, and formal charges were later preferred.
Media organisations reported the press conference and the subsequent charging. That is ordinary news coverage of public statements and court events. It does not constitute independent verification of every allegation, nor does it convert untested claims into established fact. Equally, it does not entitle anyone to treat the accused as already convicted.
AICA has publicly stated that its courses fall outside the Higher Education Act and the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Medical Council, and that the certificates issued serve only as confirmation of course completion. Whether that defence, or any other, succeeds is for the court to determine after both sides have presented evidence and been cross-examined.
What is not acceptable is the conversion of a pending criminal case into a public campaign of character destruction. Allegations made at a press conference, however forcefully expressed, remain allegations until proven. Attendees and organisers who present those claims as settled truth before the judicial process has run its course risk compounding unfairness. Political figures and community organisations have a responsibility to support complainants in seeking redress through proper channels while simultaneously respecting the presumption of innocence that protects every accused person.
Prof Dr Ng is entitled to the same protection the law affords any other citizen facing charges: the right to a fair trial, the right to contest the evidence, and the right not to have his reputation pre-emptively destroyed by selective public narrative. Victims who believe they have been wronged are equally entitled to pursue justice through the police and the courts. Neither side is served by trial-by-media or by treating a press conference as a substitute for due process.
The proper course is straightforward. Let the prosecution present its case. Let the defence answer it. Let the court decide on the evidence. Until that occurs, public commentary should remain measured, accurate, and respectful of the legal process rather than amplifying unverified claims for political or reputational effect.
Justice is not advanced by assuming the truth of every allegation made in a press conference, nor by assuming the innocence of every accused person is automatic proof of malice by complainants. It is advanced by evidence, procedure, and the disciplined application of the law.
Mandarin Translation:
无罪推定必须得到尊重——记者会审判不是正义。
黄伟强教授（Prof Dr Ng Wee Kiong），国际美容医学认证总会（AICA）发起人兼总会长，已在吉隆坡法庭面对《刑事法典》第420条文下的八项欺骗控罪，涉及2022年至2025年期间的指控。他对所有控罪均表示不认罪，并获准保释。案件已择定进一步过堂。
这是一项刑事程序，最终必须由法庭根据经过检验的证据来裁决，而不是由马华公共服务及投诉部主任拿督斯里张天赐（Datuk Seri Michael Chong）于2026年5月与所谓受害者召开的记者会内容来决定。当时会上指称有关医美培训课程属“虚假且非法”，涉嫌冒用马来亚大学的资历与名义，以及学员蒙受重大金钱损失。随后有人报警，检方也正式提出控罪。
媒体报道了该记者会以及后续的提控，这是对公开声明和法庭事件的正常新闻处理。这并不等于对每一项指控都进行了独立核实，更不能把未经检验的说法变成既定事实。同样，也不能因此就把被告当作已经定罪的人来对待。
AICA曾公开声明，其课程不受《高等教育法令》及马来西亚医药理事会管辖，所颁发的证书仅作为学员完成课程计划的证明。该抗辩或其他抗辩是否成立，最终必须由法庭在双方呈交证据并接受盘问后作出裁定。
不可接受的是，把一件尚未审结的刑事案件，转化为公开的人格摧毁运动。记者会上提出的指控，无论说得多么强硬，在被证实之前始终只是指控。与会者及主办方若在司法程序完成前，就把这些说法当作既定事实来呈现，只会加剧不公。政治人物和社区组织有责任协助投诉人通过正当渠道寻求救济，同时必须尊重保护每一位被告的无罪推定原则。
黄伟强教授有权享有法律给予任何面对控罪的公民的同等保护：获得公平审讯的权利、抗辩证据的权利，以及不被选择性公开叙述预先摧毁名誉的权利。认为自己受害的人，同样有权通过警方和法庭寻求正义。任何一方都不应被媒体审判或把记者会当作正当法律程序的替代品所服务。
正确的做法很明确：让检方呈交证据，让辩方作出回应，让法庭根据证据裁决。在此之前，公开评论应保持克制、准确，并尊重法律程序，而不是为了政治或名誉目的去放大未经核实的指控。
正义不会因为把记者会上的每一项指控都当作真相而推进，也不会因为把每一位被告的无罪推定当作投诉人恶意的自动证明而推进。正义是通过证据、程序以及法律的严谨适用来实现的。