Sabah Politician Nabbed After Being Accused Of Molestation By Unduk Ngadau Contestant
The former Putatan parliamentary coordinator alleges it's a "political conspiracy" to destroy him as certain people are not happy with him being an organiser of one of the grandest pageants.
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Earlier today, 3 June, a politician from Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku Rakyat Sabah (STAR) was nabbed by police midway through a press conference following accusations of molesting a woman
He was picked up at 12.20pm from his office near Hilton Kota Kinabalu by plain-clothes officers from the criminal investigation department and was whisked away in an unmarked police vehicle.
Prior to his arrest, the politician, Phillip Among, was stripped of his position as the party's Putatan parliamentary coordinator after two separate police reports were lodged against him.
The police reports were lodged by two people, a contestant in the just-concluded Unduk Ngadau (Harvest Queen) pageant, and a security guard, who accused Phillip of assaulting him.
The Unduk Ngadau contestant claimed that the politician, who was part of the organising committee, had asked her to follow him in his car to go for dinner after a pageant-related photoshoot on 19 May.
Once inside the car, he tried to lay his hands over the woman's neck, legs, and hands, the victim claimed in her police report, adding that she had to continuously stop him from doing so.
The politician, however, continued to harass her in the car after dinner. He also took her to his old office where he kept sexually harassing her despite her continued protests.
Two days later on 21 May, the victim lodged the police report. However, the alleged incident only came to light on 2 June, two days after the beauty pageant ended on 31 May.
Phillip Among (in blue jacket) being taken into the unmarked police vehicle.
Image via Free Malaysia Today
Phillip alleges it's a "political conspiracy" to destroy him
The former Putatan parliamentary coordinator alleges it's a "political conspiracy" to destroy him as certain people are not happy with him being an organiser of one of the grandest pageants.
When he was nabbed by the police, he was in the middle of telling reporters that he was innocent and will be suing the contestant, the security guard, and online media portals over the accusations.
"I strongly deny claims of sexual harassment, that is why I am filing this suit," Malay Mail reported the politician as saying, while he also denied assaulting the security guard.
He claims that the guard is twisting facts over a misunderstanding to turn himself into a victim.
"That is why I am filing two suits and all those who are making these allegations go viral."
It was reported that the authorities spent over 30 minutes in his office after the media left.
According to Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali, Phillip has been taken to the Kota Kinabalu district police headquarters for further action in the case.
He claims the criminal allegations against him are due to him having done much good for the community since he joined the party
"Since my appointment (in the party) I have tried to do much good to the community. As a result, I have received a lot of support. But also a lot of people are jealous and willing to resort to gutter politics to harm and destroy me. There is an enemy outside. The report on sexual molestation is utterly untrue," he said.
He also claims the victim's report, filed two days after the alleged incident, is an "afterthought".
"Why make the false report two days later? I am very disappointed and sad that she has resorted to this kind of unlawful action. I am a victim of slander and fake news."
These Malaysian organisations aim to help survivors of rape and sexual assault:
1. WOMEN'S AID ORGANISATION (WAO)
Operating hours: 24-hour
Contact: +603-30008858
SMS/WhatsApp: +6018-9888058
Website | Facebook | Twitter
2. ALL WOMEN'S ACTION SOCIETY (AWAM)
Operating hours: Weekdays (9.30am - 4.30pm)
Contact: +603-78770224
WhatsApp: +6016-2284221 | +6016-2374221
Email: telenita@awam.org.my
Website | Facebook | Twitter
3. WOMEN'S CENTRE FOR CHANGE PENANG (WCC PENANG)
Operating hours: Weekdays (9am - 5pm)
Contact: +604-2280342 | +604-3988340
WhatsApp: +6011-31084001 | +6016-4390698
Email: wcc@wccpenang.org
Website | Facebook | Twitter
4. SARAWAK WOMEN FOR WOMEN SOCIETY (SWWS)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am to 5.30pm)
Contact: +6082-422660
SMS/WhatsApp: +6013-8044285
Email: sarswws@gmail.com
Website | Facebook | Twitter
5. SABAH WOMEN'S ACTION-RESOURCE GROUP (SAWO)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am to 2pm)
Contact: +6088-280200
Email: sawo.women@yahoo.com
Website | Facebook | Twitter
6. PROTECT AND SAVE THE CHILDREN (PS THE CHILDREN)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (8.30am to 5.30pm)
Contact: +6016-2273065 | +6016-7213065
WhatsApp: +6016-7213065
Email: protect@psthechildren.org.my
Website | Facebook | Twitter
7. INTERNET WATCH FOUNDATION (IWF)
Anonymously and confidentially report child sexual abuse content and non-photographic child sexual abuse images with IWF's Reporting Portal.
In March, a politician with a 'Datuk' title was accused of sexually assaulting a businesswoman at her house in Kuala Lumpur:
The same month, Penang Amanah politician Muhammad Faiz Fadzil was accused of sexually assaulting a 31-year-old woman:
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