This Screenshot Taken From A Malaysian Paedophile Chat Group Has More Than 700 Members
"This is a real paedophile group activity in Malaysia."
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 06 Jun 2016, 06:52 PM
Just days after news of the British paedophile Richard Huckle surfaced, local activist Syed Azmi revealed a shocking truth about a potential paedophile group in Malaysia
British national, Richard Huckle admitted to sexually assaulting 23 children over the span of eight years. His youngest victim was no more than six months old.
Image via Sky News via Buzzfeed NewsSyed Azmi received a Telegram screenshot of a chat group making sexually explicit remarks about a photo of a young girl in a swimsuit
The activist took prompt action and asked the person who sent him the screenshot to make a police report right away. The screenshot shows that the group has a total of 751 members.
According the Syed Azmi, the response the sender received from his police "friend" was less than satisfactory.
The sender replied, "Ok. Tq. Saya dah hantar gambar ni tadi ke kawan saya yang polis. Dia cakap kalau rasa ada kaitan dengan saya boleh la pergi report. Ada ke patut cakap macam tu." (Okay, thank you. I've sent this photo to a friend of mine that happens to be a police. He said that if I think it has something to do with me, then I could make a police report. How can he say something like that.)
Syed Azmi revealed this piece of information through his Facebook status on Thursday, 2 June.
"This is a real paedophile group activity in Malaysia. If I could share all the names, I would. One of them has a year tagged on his name like xxxx86, let's assume it refers to the person's age? They are still young."
Disappointed with the state of matters, Syed Azmi explained how he had cried when he spoke about this issue with this team.
Shedding light and opinion on paedophilia, the prominent local activist reminded parents to be more careful when uploading full length photos of their children.
"The photos can be circulated and be used in the wrong way. This is also a reminder to myself and my family. Seems harmless but once the photo is 'victimised' there is no turning back," explained Syed Azmi in his Facebook status.
While admitting that discussions on sex crimes creates a higher awareness on the taboo topic, Syed Azmi raised concerns on how it could incite a certain kind of interest in some people to "venture" into it
"I don't believe paedophile or porn lovers are genetic. It is by cultivating interest. This is why in our culture we don't just simply say things in front of kids because we do not know how their mind works," said Syed Azmi.
Criticising the lack of sexual education in Malaysia, the activist reminded of the importance of explaining why sexual crimes like these are perceived negatively and it's ill-effects to help people really understand the seriousness of sex crimes.
"Lastly, I am sharing this as an awareness post to show how close to home the case is. They cannot afford subscriptions online and so these group are more dangerous... and they can be among us," he added.
Speaking extensively about sexually-driven mass messages in the form of advertisements, the local activist warned that taglines like, "hisap sampai cantik" and "ketat rapat, baru sedap" are not to be laughed at
A billboard that advertises a skin vitamin with the tagline, "Hisap- Hisap Terus Cantik"
Image via Atiena Beauty"Another thing, we have allowed products to brand with taglines that sounds sexual, like on the way to JB, 'hisap sampai cantik' (suck until beautiful), 'ketat rapat baru sedap' (if it's tight, then it's tasty), 'suami lemas dalam dakapan' (husband drowning in arms), 'panjang puas' (long and satisfying)."
"We just laugh at it. But I think it leaves serious repercussions in our society," stressed Syed Azmi.
At the time of publishing, Syed Azmi's Facebook post on this matter has already received 12,663 shares and and 9.8k likes.
Responding to Syed Azmi's post, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has set up a special committee to investigate the alleged local paedophile group
"Although no official report has been lodged, the special committee has started its investigation on the matter," said MCMC Enforcement and Investigations Department head Datin Mai Zairani Zainal Abidin.
Mai Zairani said cases involving paedophiles were normally investigated by the police, while MCMC would conduct forensic investigation on the platform used by them to communicate.
She said the commission received 62 complaints on abuse of the social media between January and May this year, an increase of 63 per cent from the corresponding period last year.
The law provides imprisonment for up to a year and maximum fine of RM50,000 against the offenders.
This recent burst of discussions about paedophilia comes after a 30-year-old British national confessed to sexually abusing 23 children from poor Christian communities in Malaysia: