Minor behind explicit site
'They took photos of their body parts and sold them. The girl even dropped out of school because her monthly income was higher than her parents' combined earnings,' he said in Dewan Rakyat yesterday as he sought to illustrate the dilemma facing law enforcement in the country when it involves minors.
He said while enforcement action can be taken, such cases raise legal and ethical challenges.
'When we act against minors, Suhakam will remind us that children cannot be tried in open court.
'The question then arises: what happens to their future? This is why we also need input from other agencies,' he said.
Saifuddin added that the Home Ministry works closely with other agencies and ministries such as Women, Family and Community Development; Communications, and Education to address the issue comprehensively.
He stressed that enforcement must be paired with preventive measures, particularly the instilling of good values within families and communities.
'Technology, if used for the wrong purposes, can bring harmful consequences,' he said.
In relation to this, Saifuddin added that the government is also closely monitoring swinging in the country, and where necessary, clamping down on such networks.
He said individuals or couples engaging in partner-swapping for sexual purposes on a consensual basis may run foul of of several laws.
'Under the Penal Code alone, there are five sections that can be applied – covering the advertising or offering of prostitution services, intercourse against the order of nature, acts of gross indecency, obscenity and pornography, as well as the distribution or possession of pornographic materials,' he said.
Other laws include Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act for the misuse of platforms to distribute indecent content, the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 if minors are involved, the Film Censorship Act for producing or distributing explicit recordings, and state Syariah enactments.
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