A group that threatened to track down women “dressed inappropriately” during Thaipusam and spray paint their bodies, is now being tracked down by the police.

Go and pray, not spray paint, cops tell Facebook group

THE STAR

 

Sari flurry: The ‘Thaipusam Spraying Group’ issued an online poster warning Hindu women at the Thaipusam festival that they would be sprayed with aerosol paint if they are ‘inappropriately dressed’.

KUALA LUMPUR: A group that threatened to track down women “dressed inappropriately” during Thaipusam and spray paint their bodies, is now being tracked down by the police.

Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Abdul Samah Mat said they were aware of a post by the group which has gone viral on Facebook.

The Facebook group had warned Hindu women to expect being sprayed with paint should they be “inappropriately dressed” at Thaipusam events.

“Thaipusam Spraying Group” page creator, Henry Barnabas, posted pictures revealing the backs of women donning different designer saree blouses with a comment: “Advance warning to Hindu female patrons coming to Thaipusam festival, beware of being sprayed with aerosol paint if found inappropriately dressed...”

The police were not amused.

“What these individuals are planning to do is unlawful, and we will not allow it.

“If anyone is caught breaking the law, they will be dealt with,” Comm Abdul Samah said yesterday.

He said the police were also looking into who created the Facebook page.

Comm Abdul Samah urged anyone with information to come forward and assist the police.

Those with information on the case should contact the police hotline at 03-2052 9999 or visit the nearest police station.

Netizens have also been critical of the group that is threatening the peace at Thaipusam.

Facebook user Sasi Rekha Ravi called the warning “stupid” and said the men should “stay home instead of being a nuisance”.

Meanwhile, Khirthiga Khirthi questioned who gave the men the “right to moral police others”.

Thaipusam Task Force coordinator G. Gunaraj said it “will not condone such behaviour and will reach out to the police and enforcement officers.”

“There is a dress code that should be followed and we can only educate people to follow it. We can’t force them and it is not right to do so.”

Hindu Sangam Religious Advisory Board member Dr Thilagavathy Kanagaretnam said the group’s intention to make women dress more appropriately is not wrong, “but they should not take such drastic measures.”

Wanita MIC leader Datuk Mohana Muniandy said the group should not take the law into their own hands under the guise of religion.

“We can advise people to dress accordingly, but we cannot punish them,” she said, adding that Wanita MIC would lodge nationwide police reports against the group for mocking and inciting violence.