KUALA LUMPUR – The Kota Tinggi Magistrate’s Court has fined two foreign nationals RM5,000 each for indecent behaviour during a running event in Pengerang, Johor.
According to court documents, both men were charged with committing an obscene act in public by wearing inappropriate attire during the event.
Indian national Satyanarayana Prasad Papoli, 70, and Taiwanese citizen Arthur Wang, 66, pleaded guilty to the offence before Magistrate Nurkhalida Farhana Abu Bakar.
During court proceedings, Johor prosecution director Abdul Ghafar Ab Latif and prosecutors Ahmad Khairuddin Khalid and Foo Fang Leong requested heavy penalties given the incident caused public grievance and to deter future offenders.
However, in an attempt to plead for a lighter sentence, Wang said he was not familiar with Malaysian sensitivities adding that he would not have worn indecent clothing had he known of the local norms.
Meanwhile, Satyanarayana explained it was not uncommon for men to wear women’s clothing during hash events, pointing out that he joined the run intending to do charity.
Yesterday, Johor police said they arrested three men, including two foreigners, after a Facebook post went viral displaying photos of individuals participating in the run, where runners were dressed in red, with some allegedly cross-dressing and engaged in “vulgar” behaviour.
The photos, posted by a Facebook user named Mohd Latif Talib, showed two male participants wearing female attire, and another who was shirtless with his buttocks exposed.
In the post, Latif said it appeared the parade had “LGBT groups” because some of them wore rainbow stockings and were “geng2 lembut” (effeminate).
He said such an event should not have been organised in an open, public space, more so because the area, Bandar Penawar in Kota Tinggi, was predominantly Malay.
State police chief Datuk M Kumar clarified that investigations revealed that the actions by all three suspects were done in their individual capacities and do not represent the Johor Bahru Hash House Harriers (JBHHH) who are organisers of the event. – October 7, 2024