'Photographer' Offers Modelling Job To Young M'sian Girls But Asks Them To Sleepover
The photographer claimed she could take the student's measurements and have her try on the clothes while she slept at her house.
By Aqasha Nur’aiman — 05 Jan 2023, 12:56 PM
A Malaysian woman recently shared on Twitter about her encounter with a 'photographer' who offered her a modelling job via email
The woman, 22-year-old Seri Zahra, said she was contacted by the photographer, Hanina Haris, in 2021 while she was still studying at a local university.
Seri initially did not notice any red flags in the email when Hanina approached her with a job offer to model for her "new fashion project", so she communicated with the woman professionally.
However, after a few months of exchanging emails and communicating with Hanina, the photographer unexpectedly asked Seri if she was okay with spending more time with her and sleeping over at her place.
Hanina claimed that the sleepover invitation she sent Seri was so that she could take the student's measurements and have her try on the clothes before the shoot began
She also told Seri that she was living on her own and offered to "pillow talk" with her while she slept over at her house.
"I'm embarrassed to tell you this, but, while you sleepover at my place, we can stay up and take your measurements and you can try out the clothes," said Hanina in an e-mail sent to Seri.
"We can have pillow talk and so on. By the way, can I know if you are the type to wake up easily when you're asleep?"
The alleged photographer then offered Seri a higher wage if she accepted her invitation.
Upset by the woman's unprofessional attitude and inappropriate invitation, Seri replied to her email and shut the photographer down
Seri told the woman that if she wanted to work with her, she should have been upfront about the job details from the start.
Hanina also did not give her social media accounts, making it difficult for Seri to see Hanina's previous work.
"When I asked to see your work, you dodged the question. I even asked you to contact me on WhatsApp three times, but you still didn't," Seri replied.
"If this is a scam, please stop. People are actually going through a hard time right now. If this is legit, you should learn how to be professional. Please don't contact me again."
The incident occurred in May 2021, but more and more young women have reached out to Seri recently, claiming that they, too, were victims of the same photographer
On Tuesday, 3 January, a woman who would like to remain anonymous contacted Seri and said that she discovered Seri's tweet while searching for Hanina Haris' name on Twitter.
According to the woman, she had travelled all the way from Perak to M City, Kuala Lumpur, with her mother after she was approached by Hanina to try on the clothes for the photoshoot.
However, she said that she was initially approached by a different person named Khai Zikri, and Khai was the one who offered her the modelling gig.
After communicating with Khai, Hanina then emailed the woman and asked her to travel to Kuala Lumpur for a fitting session.
Fortunately, the woman did not travel alone, and after an hour of waiting for Hanina to meet her in the parking lot of the building, her mother suspected that she had been scammed, and the family returned home shortly after.
"I came all the way from Perak and I'm absolutely traumatised by this experience. I feel like I can no longer trust any job offers that I receive in my email anymore," said the woman.
If you or someone you know may be at risk or has experienced sexual abuse or assault, please reach out to these Malaysian organisations:
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: Monday to Friday (9.30am - 5.30pm)
Contact: +603-78770224
WhatsApp/Telegram: +6016-2284221 | +6016-2374221
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
3. WOMEN'S CENTRE FOR CHANGE PENANG (WCC PENANG)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am - 5pm)
Contact: +604-2280342 | +604-3988340
WhatsApp: +6011-31084001 | +6016-4180342
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
4. SARAWAK WOMEN FOR WOMEN SOCIETY (SWWS)
Operating hours: Monday (7pm - 9pm),Tuesday to Thursday (9.30am - 11.30am), Saturday (2pm - 4pm)
Contact: +6082-368853
SMS/WhatsApp: +6016-5822660 | +6013-8044285
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
5. SABAH WOMEN'S ACTION-RESOURCE GROUP (SAWO)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am - 5pm)
Contact: +6088-280200 | +6011-27908020
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
6. PROTECT AND SAVE THE CHILDREN (PS THE CHILDREN)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (3pm - 12am)
WhatsApp: +6016-7213065
Email: [email protected]
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.
