Lewd stickers a red flag for grooming, police say

SHAH ALAM – The sharing of lewd or sexually explicit stickers on social media apps is part of a serious grooming process that can lead to physical sexual offences such as rape and molestation.

Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division's (D11) principal assistant director Senior Assistant Commissioner Siti Kamsiah Hassan said sexual predators often begin by forming seemingly friendly relationships, posing as fans, friends or even celebrities.

She said they typically send lewd stickers as an initial “joke” to test the victim’s reaction.

“They slowly build trust, for example by giving compliments, promises of gifts, or sweet talk.

“Eventually, the suspects will request photos, videos or initiate sexual conversations. All of this happens in digital spaces that appear private, such as WhatsApp.

“Predators often target children because of their limited maturity, which makes it difficult for them to distinguish right from wrong or understand the consequences of certain actions,” she told Sinar on Thursday.

She said such cases may involve several criminal offences, including communicating sexually with a child under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

She explained that this included any situation where someone sends sexually suggestive content in the form of text, images, videos or even lewd stickers without any response from the child.

She stressed that parents must educate their children about digital boundaries.

“Monitor the apps they use and know who their digital friends are. Don’t brush off lewd stickers as harmless jokes, this is often the gateway to sexual crimes.

“Don’t be complacent about your child’s digital environment because crimes today can happen without any physical contact.

“Lewd stickers, though seemingly trivial, can be the starting point for sexual abuse,” she added.