‘No drugs, no gay party, no sex’: Lawyer slams misreporting in porn possession case

SHAH ALAM – A lawyer is pushing back against misleading reports and viral claims suggesting that three men recently fined for possessing obscene materials were involved in a “gay party.”

Sam CH who represented the trio who were charged under Section 292 of the Penal Code said her clients were actually taking part in a legitimate community health programme and the event had nothing to do with sex or drugs.

“No one was caught using drugs that night. No one was having sex at the event place.

“Thanks for all your concerns. I am the lawyer in this case. Not a varsity student, not their mother,” Sam wrote in a Facebook post.

The three men had been arrested on June 18 during a health outreach event at a house in Kampung Pulau Belacan, Panchor and were fined RM3,000 to RM4,000 by the Kota Bharu magistrate's court on July 18 for possessing obscene videos and images on their mobile phones.

Sam pointed out that much of the public speculation, including reports of a “gay party” or pornographic material involving same-sex acts - was not reflected in court documents.

“The court proceedings did not mention anything about ‘gay party’ or ‘bahan lucah sejenis’ (same-sex obscene material). The charge is ‘memiliki bahan lucah’ (possessing obscene material) under Section 292. I don’t know where the media got the idea of ‘sejenis’.

“I would like to emphasise that no drugs were found, no one was caught using drugs that night.

“There was even a giant banner ‘Program Mesra Kesihatan Komuniti’ (Community Health Programme) written on it. Doctors from Klinik Kesihatan (government health clinic) were invited to give a talk on HIV prevention and awareness. There were also ongoing counselling sessions,” she said.

Sam explained that the outreach event was a registered HIV programme, with doctors present to provide screenings and awareness briefings. Despite that, police began checking participants’ phones.

“It is when the police found nothing, they decided to go through mobile phones one by one.

“Ladies and gentlemen, never browse pornographic websites with your phone, if not, police will still be able to retrieve obscene images in your phone even if you had deleted the images and video.

“Please make sure you don’t have intimate or obscene picture or videos in your phone.

“My clients were detained for five days and fined. They have paid for their mistakes and learned their lessons. All of them are traumatised,” she said.

Sam also expressed concern about the allocation of law enforcement resources, saying the focus should be redirected to more serious criminal matters.

“I wish the police focus more on other crimes such as drug trafficking, violence crimes, child sexual exploitation, domestic violence, corruption, fraud and track down ex-husbands who refuse to pay maintenance for their children, instead of checking all our phones.

“I hope everyone stop calling it ‘gay party’. They are people with dreams and responsibilities and they don’t deserve this.

“There are still people spreading fake news, spreading personal info of the organiser and calling it gay party. Please stop it.

“You have never been in a lock-up before, that’s why you can laugh at them,” she added.

The event was part of an HIV outreach programme conducted by the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) in partnership with Kota Jembal health clinic under the Health Ministry’s Differentiated HIV Services for Key Populations model.

MAC confirmed in a statement on July 18 that the programme was a legally recognised event held from 8pm until 2am on June 17, offering community-based HIV screening, counselling and health talks.

Sam said it was time Malaysians understood HIV prevention efforts better, especially the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and condoms, which were tools essential to public health.

“The ART medicine won’t give anyone HIV. It is the standard treatment for HIV. Although it doesn’t cure the infection, ART aims to control the virus, strengthen the immune system, and prevent HIV transmission.

“That’s why we say treatment is prevention,” she said.

On the use of condoms, she added it was not to encourage people to have sex. People will have sex, with or without condoms but condoms can help prevent STD, HIV and unwanted pregnancies.

“You can even get condoms at government health clinics,” she said.

Sam clarified that her post was made in her personal capacity and does not represent the views of her clients or organisations involved in the programme.

The post was reposted on Facebook by activist Syed Azmi Alhabshi.

Meanwhile, Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat in a statement clarified that the recent raid on a private gathering at a homestay in Kemumin was conducted based on valid intelligence and evidence, with no intent of discrimination.

He said the operation was carried out to maintain public order and safeguard moral values.