A TROLL has been found guilty of sending "vile and toxic" online abuse to a Premier League striker.

Derek Ng De Ren, from Singapore, was convicted of harassing Albion striker Neal Maupay by abusing him on social media.

He was caught following an investigation and formal criminal complaint filed by the Premier League last August. He will be sentenced on July 7.

The 24-year-old striker was on the receiving end of threatening messages sent via Instagram, which were then reported to the Premier League through its online abuse reporting system.

The league subsequently worked with Maupay the, club and local authorities in Singapore to pursue legal action, resulting in a prosecution and conviction.

Welcoming the news, Maupay said: “I would like to thank the club and Premier League for the support they showed me in this matter, and the professionalism in dealing with it, as well as the police and courts in Singapore.

“The vile and toxic abuse of which I was on the receiving end is a daily occurrence for many professional athletes and public figures and I hope this goes someway to showing those online trolls that it is totally unacceptable and that the authorities are prepared to take the necessary action.”

In June 2020, the Premier League launched its dedicated online abuse reporting system, which enables players, managers and their families to directly report abusive messages received via social media platforms.

Each case will be reviewed, reported to the relevant social media company, investigated and legal action taken where "appropriate."

The Argus: Neal Maupay report the abuse Neal Maupay report the abuse

Albion chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber said: “We welcome the verdict and thank the Premier League and their legal team for their support to both the club and Neal, as well as the authorities in Singapore for recognising the severity of the offence.

"This demonstrates that even where posts are anonymous, we will use all available legal resources to identify perpetrators, and we remind everyone that our club and the Premier League have a zero-tolerance policy to anyone who abuses our players, staff or other supporters.

"The message is clear. Abuse, trolling and online hate of any nature won't be tolerated; social media needs to be a safe and secure platform for all to enjoy.

"On our own channels, users will be banned, reported to the platform owners and reported to the police where they have broken the law. We fully expect other social media platforms to follow the same zero tolerance policy.

"We simply will not stand for this abuse. The social media giants must do more, but until they do, we are prepared to play our part by working with the Premier League and other authorities to identify and root out these individuals."