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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police said on Thursday (February 18) that they had questioned the founder of a dating app that was being investigated on suspicion of exploitation for prostitution, following complaints about his claim that thousands of college students were They had signed up as “sugarbabies”.
Police said the 34-year-old unidentified man was detained for questioning in the capital Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday after receiving at least 74 complaints against the online dating service Sugarbook.
On its website, Sugarbook describes itself as an “industry leader in luxury dating”, providing a platform “for modern relationships to form and grow.”
“In our preliminary investigations, the suspect admitted to being the founder of the Sugarbook app,” Selangor state criminal investigations chief Fadzil Ahmat told Reuters.
In a post that went viral last week, Sugarbook claimed that thousands of students from top public and private universities had joined the app as “sugarbabies.”
Sugarbook did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Malaysia’s internet regulator earlier this week banned Sugarbook’s website from local networks, according to news reports, after it advised users to be on the lookout for potential scams and data breaches on Sugarbook and any other apps. dating.
Sugarbook’s motto is “where romance meets finances” and defines a “sugar relationship” as one “in which both parties define what they want in a relationship in exchange for financial support.”
In a post on his website, Sugarbook founder and CEO, identified only as Darren C, said the service was a social media platform that “builds beneficial relationships with the elite of our society.”
Police did not say if the person arrested was the same. Darren C. Sugarbook is also being investigated for statements that could cause “public harm” and misuse of network facilities or services.
The national news agency Bernama reported on Thursday that the high court had denied a police request to detain the suspect further, saying it was satisfied that he would cooperate fully.
