University Students Fined For Pornography Possession After HIV Event Raid In Kelantan
The defendants’ lawyer warned about digital privacy risks, noting that police can retrieve deleted content from phones, and called for law enforcement to focus on more serious crimes.
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Three individuals, including two university students, were fined for possessing pornographic material on their mobile phones following a police raid at a community health event in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.
The lawyer representing the case, Sam CH, clarified on social media that the charges were filed under Section 292 of the Penal Code for “possessing obscene material” – not for any activities related to a “gay party” as some media reports suggested.
The incident occurred during what the lawyer described as a legitimate community health programme.
A banner reading “Program Mesra Kesihatan Komuniti” (Community Health Programme) was displayed at the venue.
Doctors from government health clinics had been invited to speak about HIV prevention and awareness.
Counselling sessions were also being conducted.
“No drug was found; no one was caught using drugs that night. No one was having sex at the event place,” Sam wrote in her Facebook post.
Legal Consequences and Digital Privacy Warning
According to the lawyer, when police found no evidence of illegal activities at the venue, they proceeded to search mobile phones of those present.
The three individuals were detained for five days before being fined.
The lawyer said her clients have since paid their fines and “learned their lessons”, though she noted they were “traumatised” by the experience.
Sam warned the public about digital privacy, explaining that police can retrieve deleted images and videos from phones.
Ladies and gentlemen, never browse pornographic websites with your phone. Police will still be able to retrieve obscene images in your phone even if you had deleted the images and video.
She also called for police to focus resources on more serious crimes, including drug trafficking, violent crimes, child sexual exploitation, domestic violence, corruption and fraud.
The lawyer emphasised that her comments represented her personal views and not those of her clients or the Malaysian AIDS Council/Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAC/MAF).
NGOs Dispute Police Claims Over Raid
Previously, a coalition of 31 NGOs has rejected police claims about the raid, supposedly an LGBTQ+-linked programme.
The event was a legitimate health initiative providing HIV testing and sexual health information, not a “gay sex party” as authorities alleged.
MAC confirmed the session was conducted under a Health Ministry-supported model targeting high-risk groups, involving over 70 clients and healthcare providers including doctors.
NGOs expressed concern about the re-emergence of raids on health centres and events for minority groups, saying such actions undermine public courage to seek HIV treatment and prevention services.
The coalition called on police to correct their “inaccurate statements” and urged the Health Ministry to investigate the matter.
READ MORE: NGOs: Kelantan “Gay Sex Party” Was Actually A HIV Outreach Program
Parts of this story have been sourced from Malaysiakini.
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