a day ago
Malaysia police disband group involving 12-year-old girl and 4 friends who sell their explicit photos online
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police have dismantled a group involving schoolchildren who sell explicit photos of themselves, including a 12-year-old girl who created and ran a website for such a purpose.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on Wednesday (Aug 20) that the police are now probing the possibility of a mastermind behind 'Geng Budak Sekolah' or School Kids Gang in Malay.
As the case involves minors, he stressed that investigations must be handled with utmost care and in strict compliance with proper procedures.
'There are methods for handling cases involving children. Pictures cannot be shared, names cannot be mentioned, and so on,' he was quoted as saying by news agency Bernama, adding that the case is handled by the Criminal Investigation Department's Women and Child Investigation Division.
'Managing cases involving children is a complicated process that we need to understand, taking into account their age, level of thinking and what drives them to do such things … all that has to be looked into,' he said.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Saifuddin said that the 12-year-old girl had conspired with four other friends to sell pictures of 'various parts of their bodies' on social media, adding that they had a WhatsApp group with 762 members.
'Some of them even decided to drop out (of school) as they were making more money than both of their parents (from the sale of the explicit photos),' he said.
He added that enforcement action was taken this year under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 along with input and coordination from various agencies, reported local news agency Bernama.
It is not clear if the WhatsApp group had adult members or when exactly the operation took place. In Malaysia, the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years old.
Saifuddin was responding to a parliamentary question by Member of Parliament for Jerai Sabri Azit who had asked about the government's efforts to address the growing issue of sexual misconduct as well as 'swinger crimes' which involved public servants and university students.
Sabri had also questioned whether existing laws are sufficient to combat online sexual exploitation.
Local media The Star had reported last year on an alleged swingers syndicate in the country that had organised group sex for its 147,000 subscribers. The syndicate, which operated online, offered subscribers a chance to swap partners as well as take part in group sex in condominiums around the Klang Valley area.
Saifuddin said that swinger activities are tackled under the federal police's Anti-Vice, Gambling and Secret Societies Division while the case involving the schoolchildren falls under the Women and Child Investigation Division.
'When we act against minors, SUHAKAM will remind us that children cannot be tried in open court,' Saifuddin told Parliament, referring to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia.
'This also raises the question of what happens to their future? That is why we need input from other agencies.'
Section 15 of the Child Act 2001 in Malaysia restricts the reporting of child-related legal proceedings, specifically prohibiting the publication of identifying information about children involved in such cases.
Separately, a legal expert told CNA that while it is against the law for a child to take, have or distribute sexual photos of themselves to others, it is crucial that investigations factor in other aggravating factors that led to such behaviours, including elements of exploitation or threats.
'At times, it is not in the best interest of the child to criminalise them for sharing sexual images of themselves despite attaining the age of criminal responsibility … parental supervision and rehabilitative counselling could be ideal choices,' former president of the Malaysian Bar Salim Bashir told CNA.
He noted that it is a crime to post offensive contents on social media platforms under Section 211 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Under Section 292(A) of the Penal Code, one can be jailed for up to three years for selling, hiring, distributing, or circulating any obscene materials.
Salim added that one can also be charged in Malaysia under Section 6, 11 and 12 of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017 for grooming, exchanging and reproducing pornographic materials or even sexually communicating with a child.
