It's really about destroying someone else's property.
Cover image via Agustin Jo/Pexels & jcomp/Freepik
Malaysia has its fair share of strange customs and superstitions, but you might be surprised to learn that it's home to some pretty strange laws as well
Among the most random things to get penalised for, melting someone else's igloo might just be the strangest.
The law that prohibits this misdeed falls under Section 425 of Malaysia's Penal Code, which labels it an act of mischief
It states that "whoever, with intent to cause, or knowing that he is likely to cause, wrongful loss or damage to the public or any person, causes the destruction of any property, or any such change in any property, or in the situation thereof, as destroys or diminishes its value or utility, or affects it injuriously, commits 'mischief'."
While the overall premise of the section seems pretty logical and straightforward, one specific example may raise some eyebrows.
In its second illustration, the section declares that if:
"A introduces water into an ice-house belonging to Z, and thus causes the ice to melt, intending wrongful loss to Z. A has committed mischief."
While the definition of an ice-house can be pretty vague, it could mean either one of two things
The first immediate thing you might picture when thinking about an ice-house is a house made of ice (like an igloo), while the second meaning could refer to a storage structure where ice is kept, sometimes underground.
Either way, both definitions make sense when referring to the mischievous destruction of property.
A house made of ice or ice stored inside a facility could have value to its owners, and deliberately introducing water to melt them results in a loss of value for the owners. Hence why it's a crime.
But considering that it's sunny Malaysia we're talking about, the idea of deliberately melting an igloo in a tropical country can be pretty funny when you think about it.
However, in reality, the law is more likely referring to an ice storage facility, where the actual value of stored ice could be significant.
For those smirking at this particular bit of information, there's also the penalty for infringing Section 425 of Malaysia's Penal Code
According to Section 426, causing mischief is liable to land the accused in prison for up to five years, receive a fine, or both.
And if you think such mischief-related laws aren't enforced, the New Sarawak Tribune reported that a man was punished in 2023 for destroying a phone belonging to a 53-year-old woman after an argument.
This resulted in a loss of property, and the 20-year-old man was penalised with a RM3,000 fine under Section 425 of the Penal Code.
Melting someone's igloo or stored ice might just be one of the weirdest examples of a crime in Malaysia, but now we wonder what other strange instances exist in the Penal Code. Hmmm.
Talking about water, here's what one of our writers went through during the most recent Klang Valley water cuts:
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