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Syed Azmi warns of likely paedophile group in M’sia
Activist says members of the group, totalling 751, share photos of children and post sexually explicit and perverse comments about them.
PETALING JAYA: Activist Syed Azmi Alhabshi has reached out to Malaysians, warning them of the possibility of a group of paedophiles in the country who share pictures of random children online and post perverse and sexually explicit comments about the kids.
The issue was brought to his attention when a friend sent him a screenshot of a post on messaging app Telegram, where members of the group, totalling 751, exchanged sexually-tinged jokes about a little girl, whose picture they shared.
Advising his friend to lodge a police report, Syed Azmi cautioned parents against posting full-length shots of their kids online as he said their pictures could be “circulated” or “used in the wrong way” without their knowledge by sexually-perverse adults.
He commented on the “issue” that made headlines today — that of British paedophile Richard Huckle facing 71 offences against Malaysian children from 2006 to 2014, while he was posing as an English teacher.
He said that while it helped create awareness of such sex crimes, there were others whose curiosity could likely be aroused enough for them to be “interested to venture into it (paedophilia)”
“I don’t believe paedophiles 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,” Syed Azmi said in his Facebook post.
He also posted the Telegram screenshot that was sent to him, although he took pains to blur the face of the little girl in the picture to protect her identity.
However, the sexually explicit conversation about the little girl by several members of the group could be clearly seen in the screenshot.
At the time of publishing, Syed Azmi’s post was shared close to 7,000 times with over 1,000 netizens leaving comments expressing their concern and disgust over the existence of the group.
In June last year, local comedian Harith Iskandar was furious when he learnt that pictures of himself with his son were being used in a local pornography website.
While Syed Azmi’s friend lodged a report with the police about the invitation he received to the paedophile group, Harith lodged a report with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) with the hope that the perpetrators could be tracked down and dealt with.
