JOHOR BARU:The 16-year-old teenage boy who allegedly used deepfake technology to fabricate and spread lewd images of his schoolmates and alumni has been further remanded for another five days.
The remand order until this Sunday (April 20) was granted by Magistrate Nabilah Nizam following an application submitted by a police investigating officer from the Iskandar Puteri district police headquarters here on Wednesday (April 16).
Also remanded alongside the teenager is a 19-year-old male, who has been remanded for six days starting Wednesday for the same purpose.
The remand application was made to facilitate investigations under Section 7 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
The case is also being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588).
Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar had said that 29 police reports had been lodged against the teen, as of noon Tuesday (April 15).
Initially, eight police reports were lodged, leading to the teenager's arrest in Kulai at 5pm on April 8 and his subsequent remand.
The suspect allegedly used artificial intelligence tools to manipulate photos of his victims, which he obtained through social media, and sold the edited images at RM2 each.
The incident came to light when the school issued a statement on Facebook confirming that complaints had been received about the matter.
The school has since expelled the teenager for breaching its rules.
More alleged victims then came forward, with the youngest said to be only 12 or 13 years old.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated case, police have arrested a civil servant for investigation under sexual harassment after allegedly sending a pornographic link to a female colleague.
It is learnt that the 32-year-old suspect attempted to defend himself by posting on his Facebook account, stating that sending the pornographic link was unintentional.
Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat, who confirmed the case, said that the suspect was under remand for seven days to assist with the investigation.
“Police received a report from the victim on Tuesday (April 15) and we arrested the suspect on the same day,”he said.
ACP Raub however declined to elaborate further on the case as the matter was under police investigation.
