Angry Malaysians Want Justice After Photos Of Cop Allegedly Making Lewd Gestures Go Viral
Section 509 of the Penal Code states that any word or gesture intended to insult a person’s modesty is punishable by law.
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A female photographer caught a Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) officer seemingly making lewd gestures at her on camera, as she was photographing a protest in Kuala Lumpur sometime last week.
On Friday (13 December), she took to social media to highlight the matter, which caught the attention of many.
“The gesture was repeated a few times, to make sure I saw him. I was standing alone at the stairs of the pedestrian overpass, so it was definitely directed towards me. The officer next to him witnessed this and just laughed,” she wrote in an instagram post.
Speaking to business daily The Malaysian Reserve yesterday (15 December), Bukit Aman Department of Integrity and Standards Compliance (JIPS) director Datuk Seri Azri Ahmad said the photographer should make a police report as soon as possible.
This is so that the authorities could investigate the sexual harassment claims, as well as initiating internal investigations against the officer.
“If a proper report is lodged and a criminal offence is established, it will strengthen the JIPS’ case on the subject’s misconduct,” Azri said.
Can the officer be charged for gesturing a sexual act?
If it is determined that the gesture is lewd, the answer is yes. According to the law, any sexual gesture directed to a person without consent is considered an act of sexual harassment.
The anti-sexual harassment act, which was gazetted in 2022, defines it as any unwanted conduct of sexual nature, be it verbal, non-verbal, visual, gestural, or physical; that is directed at a person which is reasonably offensive or humiliating or is a threat to the person’s well-being.
Additionally, section 509 of the Penal Code states that any word or gesture intended to insult the modesty of a person is punishable with a maximum of five years in prison, a fine, or both.
Social media outrage
Many social media users have condemned the actions of the PDRM officer via the photographer’s instagram comments section.
One user shared her own experience of an encounter with a police officer whom she alleged behaved inappropriately at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
Another user suggested that PDRM should be more selective of their candidates, so as not to embarrass Malaysia.
The photographer has since garnered public support when she went to lodge a police report this morning at IPD Dang Wangi against the accused PDRM officer, Lance Corporal Muhammad Faris bin Ariffin Tait.
A post on X (formerly Twitter) by user Amanda revealed that the protest on 13 December where the incident happened was a humanitarian protest for Palestine, Lebanon, and Yemen.
The post also includes a poster calling the people to the Dang Wangi police station in solidarity for the photographer making her police report this morning.
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