Police: Sugarbook founder to be charged Wednesday (Feb 24)

PETALING JAYA: The 34-year-old Sugarbook founder is expected to be charged at the Shah Alam Magistrate's Court on Wednesday (Feb 24).

Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Fadzil Ahmat (pic) said Selangor's prosecution director had agreed to charge the suspect under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for making statements that led to public alarm and distress.

"The suspect will be prosecuted tomorrow morning," he said when contacted on Tuesday (Feb 23).

The founder of the dating platform was arrested at a condominium in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, on Feb 17.

SAC Fadzil had said police have received 74 police reports nationwide in connection with this case.

During the initial investigation, the suspect confessed to being the founder of Sugarbook.

The founder pleaded guilty in August 2022 to a Section 505(b) Penal Code charge over the post “TOP 10 SUGAR BABY UNIVERSITY IN MALAYSIA” and paid a RM7,000 fine and the arrest warrant was cancelled.

On Feb 15, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) blocked access to the Sugarbook website for allegedly breaching the law on the use of network facilities or services.

MCMC had said it was monitoring and investigating Sugarbook and would take action against its users and platform owners should they violate the laws.