A 22-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl from Pasir Gudang, Johor, have been remanded for two days to facilitate a police probe over a 23-second viral video that supposedly showed them performing an alleged sex act in a car.
Berita Harian reported Magistrate Noorfazlin Hamdan granted the police's remand application earlier today under Section 377D of the Penal Code which criminalises acts of "gross indecency" - with a penalty of up to two years imprisonment.
This follows the duo's reported arrests at two separate locations around Pasir Gudang yesterday.
Meanwhile, Deputy Digital Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said she had alerted both Facebook and TikTok with a request to remove the video from their platforms.
"I don't have any TikTok links so I just told them to keep an eye (on the video).
"They told me they did not come across such a video, maybe it has been removed," Teo told Malaysiakini.
So far, the identity of the individual who recorded and uploaded the alleged video remains unclear.
Responding to media reports, Muda Human Rights Bureau director Dobby Chew questioned the lack of protection for minors caught in such situations, including having their identity protected by authorities and media.
"Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Inspector General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani must answer for the conduct of the police force in the arrest, detention and publicity of the case.
"There must be clear rules and orders surrounding the treatment of minors, and any violation by the arresting officer must be dealt with severely," he said in a statement.
Chew also said that Child Act 2001 provides clear regulations and rules surrounding the treatment of juvenile offenders.
"Section 83A (1) explicitly states that a child shall not be handcuffed unless it is an offence involving grave crimes or there was an attempt to resist or evade arrest.
"There are no indications that the two persons were in any way committing a grave offence or resisting arrest," said Chew.
"Furthermore, it is highly unethical and damaging for the police to parade the two persons in handcuffs, remand clothing and allow photos of them in such conditions to be proliferated and shared freely," added Chew.
He cited photos and graphic images shared of the alleged incident, as well as the subsequent image of the duo being escorted out of a police truck in remand clothing and handcuffs this morning.
Chew also noted that there were media outlets that had also published explicit images with no consideration for the protection of minors.
Seri Alam district police chief Mohd Sohaimi Ishak previously said the alleged incident in the video was believed to have taken place at 3.03pm on March 29, at a parking lot in Taman Kota Masai, Pasir Gudang.
He added that a red Perodua Axia and a red and white T-shirt from a school-level uniformed body have been confiscated for investigation. - Mkini
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