Man Allegedly Pretends To Be An MCMC Officer To Harass Influencer Cathryn Lee

The man, named Carrick Tan, posted a photo of himself being handcuffed at a police station in Kuala Lumpur last Thursday, 29 October, saying that he was charged under Section 170 of the Penal Code for impersonating a civil servant.

His arrest came after Lee — an actress and fitness model with over 1.7 million followers on Instagram — lodged a police report over Tan's alleged harassment and intimidation.

According to Lee's social media post published yesterday, 2 November, Tan first reached out to her by sending a photo of his name card with an 'advisor to a deputy minister' job title.

Lee said Tan asked her out for coffee, but she refused, adding that she does not know how the so-called civil servant got her phone number.

In an Instagram Story, she said, "[Tan] sent me his name card, photos of him with the minister and some celebrities without a proper self-introduction, and then straight away asked me out for a coffee."

"I disliked it and never replied. Then he called me, I did not pick up and he called again on the next day. I blocked him. What a man with bad manners."

In a report by China Press, it is learnt that Tan also sent the 31-year-old actress an article about her taking off her clothes.

The Instagram Story shows Tan is named as 'Crazy' in Lee's contacts.

This took her by surprise as Lee only has a few friends and family members in her 'Close Friends' circle on Instagram.

It is unknown who among her 'Close Friends' group shared the Instagram Story with Tan, but Tan told SAYS in an interview that it was a film director who shared it with him.

Infuriated by the post, Tan said Lee's claims are "fabrication, slander, fake, bullying, arrogant, rude, low-level, and using cunning means".

"Have you filed taxes and explained the source of your income clearly? I know exactly how you got your luxury mansion and sports car," Tan responded in a Facebook post.

"The methods are dirty, indecent, and shameless. It is time for me to take on the duty of the people. Here I officially declare war and seek justice for everyone!"

Tan, who runs a production house that produces and invests in films and advertisement, then filed a counter police report against Lee, claiming she had called him 'crazy' and humiliated him in a post that also captured the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM) logo.

Instead, he told SAYS that he was appointed to be an advisor to Communications and Multimedia Deputy Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin through a direct invite.

"My salary is paid directly from Zahidi's pocket," Tan said.

It was previously reported that Lee's lawyer claimed Tan impersonated a civil servant from MCMC and tried to intimidate their client with authoritative power.

When asked about the legitimacy of his name card which bears a KKMM logo, he said the name card is approved by Zahidi and that it is only available in softcopy.

He said the reason he sent the name card to Lee, as well as photos of him with celebrities, was to prove to the actress that he is not a random person, but an individual with some background.

Tan added that the reason he approached Lee was to investigate a news article on behalf of the ministry that claimed she had taken off her clothes in a video.

"A few of us at the KKMM office were talking about (the article). We don't think [the video] is right because there are students and people of various religions following her. Many people (in the ministry) don't understand what the news was about," he said.

Under Zahidi's advice, he decided to sue the actress because she was rude and described him as 'crazy'.

China Press reported that Tan was supposed to be conferred a Datukship from the Sultan of Pahang, but he lost the opportunity due to the controversy.

He said he will sue the actress for RM30 million in damages and the amount could increase depending on how long the issue lasts and what Lee's net worth is.