PETALING JAYA: Muda today criticised the police over the “unethical” treatment of a minor who allegedly engaged in an indecent act with a man and called for the removal of videos of the duo being spread on the internet.
Its human rights bureau chief, Dobby Chew, called out the men in blue over the use of handcuffs on the 17-year-old girl who was caught in a 23-second viral video that supposedly showed her and a 22-year-old man engaging in what seems to be a sexual act in a car.
He said the Child Act 2001 provided clear rules on the treatment of juvenile offenders.
“Section 83A (1) explicitly states that a child shall not be handcuffed unless it is an offence involving a grave crime or there was an attempt to resist or evade arrest.
“There are no indications that the two persons had in any way committed a grave offence or had resisted arrest,” Chew said in a statement.
“Muda is shocked by the proliferation of photos and graphic images involving the juvenile and a youth who were allegedly recorded in the middle of an indecent act and the subsequent image of them being escorted out of a police truck in remand clothing and handcuffs.
“It is highly unethical and damaging for the police to parade the two persons in handcuffs and remand clothing and allow photos of them in such condition to proliferate and be shared freely.”
Chew chided the media outlets which reported the news “without any regard to the welfare and rights of the persons involved, especially under the Child Act 2001”.
He said the press should remove all pictures of the minor and the public should stop sharing them.
Chew also called on internet regulators to immediately take down the content.
The political youth activist demanded answers from home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani over the conduct of those involved in the arrest of the minor.
He said any violation of the rules by the arresting officer must be dealt with severely.
The couple in Johor Bahru is under remand for two days starting today. They were arrested at two separate locations around Pasir Gudang yesterday.
Meanwhile, Malaysiakini reported that deputy communications and digital minister Teo Nie Ching had requested Facebook and TikTok to remove the video.
“I don’t have any TikTok links so I just told them to keep an eye out (for the video). They told me they did not come across such a video … maybe it has been removed,” Teo reportedly said.
At the time of publication, the identity of the individual who recorded and shared the video remains unknown. - FMT
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