The police must be condemned for their action of 'inviting the media' to accompany them as they conduct a raid on a premise allegedly carrying out illegal activities...
The law gives police certain powers....to enter premises where there is a believe that crime is being committed - but certainly, there is no power to bring guests ....and certainly not the media and 'outside' photographers and video camera men..
The police is supposed to gather evidence to prove a crime....and then submit to the prosecutors...who then may charge a person in court... and only after a person is convicted will he be presumed guilty...
And in this case, what were the police doing? What were the media personnel doing? Was it criminal intimidation.... or maybe even defamation...assault???
506. Punishment for criminal intimidation.
Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both; and if the threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, or to cause the destruction of any property by fire, or to cause an offence punishable with death or imprisonment, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or to impute unchastity to a woman, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both.
Was there any 'prostitution' proven at all? Was there any sex for money at all? At night, they raided a premise - and there were women - some not having the time to dress up properly...
"If one of the girls is your mother, sister, or daughter, would you take the photos and publish them?" - Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah, Commissioner, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
Is it a crime for a group of women scantily dressed to be in a private premise at night? I do not think so...
Is it even wrong for a man and women to be caught having sex....No, it is not a crime if it is consensual and both are adults. For Muslims, it may be an offence in Syariah law if they are not married...but not the case for non-Muslims.
Is it wrong for a women masseur to be scantily dressed when she is massaging a customer...in a premises licensed as premise that provides massage services...No, it is not.
Is it wrong for a women scantily dressed to be massaging a man in some other premises... No, it is not.
Sometimes, our own prejudices...and 'excitement' blinds us from the facts...interestingly also we find that there are very few (if any at all) cases where a person have been tried and convicted for prostitution...
Too many times, these kind of abuses by the police (and the media) have occurred - and sadly it continues... We have seen many media reports (even reports on TV) about similar raids ... where we are also shown pictures and images of usually young women....
SUHAKAM maybe should have a public inquiry about this raid - and come up with recomendations about proper conduct of the police and the media...
1. Media should never be invited to accompany the police on any such raids...
2. If media is to report on any such raid, there must be no pictures, video or graphics of any of the said women or persons arrested, etc that allows any third person to be able to be able identify such women and persons....be it vide their faces, clothing, physical trait/description, nationality, religion ....
*** The victims, the women and other persons victimized, most likely would not want to take any action (or legal action) against the police, media and ...who violated their privacy and rights...
Be that the case, justice loving Malaysians and persons, must insist an end to such behavior and conduct by the police, the media ....against SUSPECTED sex workers...
Photographers have a ball at anti-vice raid
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COMMENT
Two weeks ago, the media was invited by the Selangor police to witness
its anti-vice, gambling and secret societies unit in action.
Media personnel gathered at the Puchong Jaya police station that night and were given a short briefing by the enforcement team.
The
team leader then told his 20-strong team that the police rarely bring
the media along during a raid, reminding his subordinates to behave and
not to embarrass themselves.
He also reminded his men not to
smoke cigarettes or behave aggressively during their raid. Just before
the briefing ended, the leader said: "I don't like the media following
us either."
This remark didn't really bother me, but I did find it rather baffling at the time.
Later, we arrived at the gates of a suspected vice-den and the police
went through a considerable effort to break down the door.
Personal gratification
What followed were some rather "lively" scenes caused by the media personnel present.
While
the police did not abuse their power, some media personnel did. They
used their cameras and cell phones to take photographs of suspected sex
workers for their personal gratification.
Many suspected sex
workers did not have enough time to dress, and were forced to stand
naked in front of the trigger-happy press photographers. The police did
not interfere.
Some
suspected sex workers were shocked by the sudden appearance of the
police personnel and the media horde, causing them to grab their clothes
to cover their bodies.
One senior male media personnel appeared
extremely excited when he saw a naked woman in front of him. While
training his camera on the woman, he scolded her in Malay: "Who asked
you to cover (your body)?"
The woman tried in vain to locate a
private nook to dress herself, but the photographer tailed her until a
police personnel said: "Forget it. Let her dress up."
The media
man slowly made his way out of the room, but stopped in front of a
curtained cubicle to take photographs of another woman putting on her
clothes.
After the suspected sex workers had put on their clothes, they were taken to the lobby of the establishment.
Female journalists too join the fun
One suspected sex worker wore a short dress and in her haste, did not
put on any underwear. As she sat down, several photographers and
videographers noticed her exposed private part and quickly trained their
cameras on her.
When the victim realised what was going on, she rushed back to a room to put on an underwear.
Meanwhile, several female journalists were having a ball posing for photographs in front of the suspected sex workers.
The incident clearly illustrate how some media personnel had violated their journalistic ethics.
It is no surprised that Bukit Aman Anti-Vice, Gambling and Secret
Societies Division director Abdul Jalil Hassan once said that the media
often enjoyed such assignments.
This reminded me of the police officer who had earlier ordered his subordinates to take care of their image during the raid.
But that night, the members of the media were the ones who embarrassed themselves.
LOH IEE WEN is a crime desk reporter with Oriental Daily News. The above article appeared in Oriental Daily News on July 30, and is reproduced with permission.- Malaysiakini, 1/8/2012, Photographers have a ball at anti-vice raid
See earlier post: -
Not just defaming young foreign women - but now chaining and marking them - Shame on you Malaysia
WAO: Stop taking media on anti-vice raids
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Amidst criticism of a media pursuit to photograph naked women
during a recent police anti-vice raid in Selangor, calls have been
aired for greater respect for news subjects as well as a stronger grip
on journalistic ethics.
Women’s
Aid Organisation executive director Ivy Josiah said the police should
stop taking media personnel along on the raids, especially to massage
parlours.
“Why should the media be there in the first place? The
police should have never invited the media,” said the long-time
campaigner for fairer portrayal of women in the media.
“Over the
years, whenever there is a raid, they (media have) tended to take
photographs of naked women… The customers and employers have rarely been
shown and this is sexist.
“It is a common practice but it is
humiliating and disrespectful to the women. The portrayal of women in
the media has always been problematic.”
Photographers involved in
the raid stand accused of taking pictures of the women, even following
them to their changing rooms. The police apparently did not stop the
photographers.
Ivy said reporters and media photographers should be educated by their editors to stop being unethical.
“The
editors should focus on the ethical issues of their subordinates. They
should be educated to respect women, innocent or guilty,” she told Malaysiakini today, noting that those caught in such situations could be victims of human trafficking.
She
suggested that the media industry should monitor itself by seeking help
from support groups like the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
and National Union of Journalists (NUJ) to step up ethical reporting.
Malaysiakini also spoke to other stakeholders on this issue.
NUJ secretary-general V Anbalagan
All journalists and photographers covering events must respect the privacy of the people involved.
They
(news subjects) are innocent until proven guilty. Media are quick in
blaming people and it is dangerous especially when it involves the
rights of women and children.
The media is trying to paint a
negative picture by posting (indecent) photos of women. The women have
not been charged (with any offence). They are still being questioned by
the police.
Since reporters need to write their stories, they should be careful in handling the photos and should not identify the women.
Although
the NUJ has provided classes on ethics in the past, it is the job of
the employer to fully educate the photographers and journalists.
The NUJ will look into updating the code of ethics. Times have changed, so the code needs to be changed too.
Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah, Commissioner, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
The media should not sensationalise their articles to sell more newspapers.
In any news coverage, they (media) should respect the subject's dignity.
The media should not use images of these people to promote their newspapers. This is not in our culture.
The police too have no right to invite the media on raids.
Suhakam will decide whether or not a dialogue is required with news editors to discuss the journalistic code of ethics.
We
have highlighted this before. It is the media's responsibility to
protect the privacy of (subjects), not degrade them any further.
If one of the girls is your mother, sister, or daughter, would you take the photos and publish them? - Malaysiakini, 1/8/2012, WAO: Stop taking media on anti-vice raids
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