JOHOR BARU, April 8 — Police today denied allegations that they deliberately paraded a minor during her remand application at a magistrate's court after an arrest with another man over an alleged sex clip.
Seri Alam police chief Superintendent Mohd Sohaimi Ishak claimed the police personnel had acted professionally throughout the journey by escorting the suspects to the court complex.
"The couple were transported together with suspects from other cases to the magistrate’s court here in an official police vehicle. All the suspects were brought into the court complex via the regular route for their remand proceedings.
"Throughout the remand process, no one from the Seri Alam district police had made arrangements allowing outside parties to be present at the court complex for photography or video recording,” said Mohd Sohaimi in a statement here.
He also denied suggestions that the district police had arranged for the media or any parties to be present to record the 17-year-old girl and her 22-year-old male companion as they made their way to the court complex.
Yesterday, the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) said it was disturbed by the photos of the couple who were allegedly recorded in the middle of an indecent act and images of them being escorted out of a police truck in remand clothing and handcuffs.
Muda human rights bureau director Dobby Chew called on the media to promptly remove any explicit images identifying the two and urged the public to stop sharing any images of the two youths.
Mohd Suhaimi assured the public that the district police have initiated an investigation to identify if there was a breach of procedures by police personnel throughout the suspects’ remand process yesterday.
On the dissemination of the video allegedly showing the couple engaged in sex acts, Mohd Sohaimi said police would undertake follow-up action on the matter.
Yesterday, Magistrate Noorfazlin Hamdan approved a two-day remand application by the district police for further investigations under Section 377D of the Penal Code for gross indecency. Both were released on police bail at 4pm yesterday, pending investigations.
Under the law, anyone who is found guilty of committing or abetting others in any act of gross indecency with another person, whether in public or in private, must be sentenced to jail which can last up to two years.
The couple were arrested on Thursday after a 23-second video recording of a couple supposedly having sex inside a car was widely shared on social media.
