At the start of this week, a new controversy emerged in the form of three local content creators uploading a clip of them pretending to be charitable towards a homeless man by giving him chicken bones, which was actually a prank.
Since then, the trio behind the clip have been catching hell in the form of online backlash and intense questioning by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Mum of 14yo content creator alleges mistreatment
Among one of the content creators was a 14-year-old boy surnamed Luo, who was left deeply shaken and remorseful due to massive backlash over the clip.
Despite his apology for his role in the now-infamous “chicken bones prank”, Luo’s mother claimed her son was subjected to treatment reserved for criminals.
In an interview with China Press, Luo’s mother said she had accompanied Luo to the Iskandar Puteri police station around 10am on Tuesday (Aug 5) after he was summoned by MCMC to give his statement.
“At the time, the officers said they were only using the police station as a place for questioning. However, around 5pm that same day, we were told that a police report had been lodged in Seremban.
“As such, my son, along with the two other influencers involved in the case were ordered to be taken to Seremban, where he was then made to wear a prison uniform and detained in a holding cell with other suspects while being handcuffed.
“When he was taken to Seremban at around 11pm, he was told to remove the prison uniform and change back into his own clothes. On the way there, he wasn’t allowed to sleep and was given no food or water,” she claimed.
‘Should a child be treated like this?’
While acknowledging that her son needed to face the consequences for his actions, Luo’s mother decried the move to handcuff him when it was only supposed to be a standard interrogation by MCMC.
I’d like to ask Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching this: does MCMC’s treatment of a minor like this not violate the Child Protection Act?”
When asked whether she had lodged a police report over the alleged mistreatment, Luo’s mother said she hasn’t done so.
Minister responds
Following the allegations, Teo told China Press that MCMC officers did not handcuff Luo’s son or require him to change into prison garb while recording his statement.
She reiterated that MCMC has no authority to stop the police from conducting investigations, and that the police were not acting under MCMC’s instructions.
However, she acknowledged that handcuffing a minor, unless he/she is involved in a serious crime or attempts to resist or evade arrest, is in violation of Section 83A(1) of the Child Act 2001.
Teo added an independent investigation is ongoing following complaints received by MCMC and the police.
Read more about the incident here:
