PETALING JAYA: An entrepreneur is now fearing the safety of her family after she was propositioned to send explicit photos of her daughter by a stranger on WhatsApp.
Sue Zahid, 30, received a WhatsApp message on Monday evening from someone posing as an interested buyer of the beauty products she sells.
When she was asking what lotion the buyer wanted to buy, the buyer shared a photo of Sue’s seven-year-old daughter that she had published on her social media page in August last year.
The buyer revealed that she only had sons, and offered to adopt Sue’s daughter.
Sue was then sent an indecent photo of a baby’s private parts and was asked to send similar photos of her daughter.
“Send photos of your daughter like this,” said the buyer, who acknowledged that she is a les-bian.
The buyer claimed the photo was that of her babysitter’s daughter, and said she has many more explicit photos of children between the ages of five months and 11-years-old.
“I was shocked. I thought this person was a genuine customer,” Sue told The Star.
“I am scared for my family’s safety. The person then said that she wanted to take my daughter because she only had sons. Then she sent me that horrible photo.
“I was disgusted. The photo was of such a young child,” she said.
Sue, who is the mother of two other daughters and one son, said that she was concerned for the young child in the photo.
“The person claim the girl was her babysitter’s daughter. Something should be done to help that child,” she said.
Sue stop communicating with the woman, informing her that she would lodge a police report.
In KUALA TERENGGANU, JO TIMBOUNG reported that Hulu Terengganu OCPD Deputy Supt Mohd Adli Mat Daud advised Sue to lodge a report on the matter a t the nearest police station.
“We view child pornography cases very seriously and an officer will assist her in lodging the report,” he said.
Voice of the Children chairman Sharmila Sekaran advised parents to be mindful when sharing photos of their children.
“Parents need to be aware and cautious about where they post photos of their children. Ensure all social media photos are set to private or friends only, not public,” Sharmila told The Star.
“Photos of children should not be shared publicly.
“Even when sharing photos with friends and family, it should expressly state that photos should not be forwarded to others,” she added.
Sharmila said that children should not be used to advertise or promote a business.
“For the communication to escalate so quickly, it may suggest that the ‘buyer’ had been stalking or scoping the seller (Sue),” she said.
“Parents should be aware, especially when it comes to matters regarding safety and protection of children,” she added.
Previously in 2015, pictures of comedian Harith Iskander’s son and actress Erra Fazira’s daughter were seen on a pornography website believed to be from Malaysia.
There were almost 200 non-pornographic pictures of children on the website earlier before the case was highlighted.
Sharmila, who is also a lawyer, said indecent photos of children like the one shared with Sue is considered child pornography.
Under section 5 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act, any person found guilty of making or producing child pornography shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 years and shall also be punished with whipping of not less than six strokes.
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