Bukit Aman: Recording videos, taking pictures of the police on duty is not a crime; sharing your content is



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KUALA LUMPUR: While recording video or taking photographs of police in the performance of their duties is not a crime, sharing the content in any way can interfere with police investigations, says Bukit Aman.

CID federal director Comm Datuk Huzir Mohamed said doing so was against Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998 for publishing with the intention of annoying others.

“We can confirm that the Kajang police are conducting investigations based on a police report submitted on a post on the Facebook page of the Malaya University New Youth Association (Umany) ‘YDPA must not interfere in national affairs ‘”he said in a statement on Tuesday (November 10).

It said the investigations were conducted under Section 4 (1) of the Sedition Act and 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act of 1998.

“We also received 41 police reports against the publication.

“To complete our investigations, a team from Kajang CID carried out a raid on a house in Petaling Jaya, which was in accordance with Section 8 (2) of the Sedition Act (issuance of search warrants).

“Before beginning our search, a police officer wearing a police vest showed his police authority card to a man in the house, but the man did not cooperate and closed the door,” he said.

Later, he said, a woman, who identified herself as the man’s lawyer, arrived at the scene.

“A man who also arrived started recording through Facebook Live using his mobile phone.

“The policeman had warned the man to stop recording, but he persisted and we arrested the 23-year-old for disrupting an investigation and obstructing the police from doing their duty,” he said, adding that a mobile phone and A SIM card were also seized.

Comm Huzir said the arrest was made in accordance with the law in the interest of investigations.

“We have to remind the public that investigations are confidential and cannot be disclosed, especially on social media.

The police also made the appropriate decision to issue warnings, which were ignored.

“The officer discovered that the man had disobeyed an order issued by a police officer, who is also a public official that is stipulated in article 188 of the Penal Code,” he said.

He added that while recording videos or taking photos was not a crime, sharing the content by any means could jeopardize investigations and was also against article 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Law of 1998.

Comm Huzir urged the public to always cooperate with the police and not to interrupt the conduct of a fair, transparent and impartial investigation.

“Severe action will be taken against anyone who intentionally threatens public order and safety,” he said.

A 24-year-old man was reportedly detained during a police raid on a house here in connection with the sedition investigation involving the University Malaya New Youth Association (Umany).

The man was arrested for obstructing police personnel in the performance of their duties.

Earlier it was reported that statements by Umany were recorded, after two of his bosses were summoned to the police.

Umany President Yap Wen Qing and Vice President Tan Li Yuan entered the Kajang Police District headquarters at around 2:00 pm and left at 4:30 pm on Thursday (November 5).

His lawyer, Rajsurian Pillai, had said his clients were being investigated under the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act for a Facebook post titled “Yang di-Pertuan Agong should not intervene in national affairs.”



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