KUALA LUMPUR: Findings by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) indicate that children groomed by online predators may be increasingly vulnerable to being coerced into selling explicit content to other predators.
Bukit Aman’s Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division (D11) principal assistant director, Senior Asst Comm Siti Kamsiah Hassan, said the disturbing development highlights the risks children face when online activity is not closely monitored.
"In one of our latest findings, we are seeing cases of online predators contacting children offering money for explicit images or videos. These children, who are victims of online sexual abuse, will sell images of themselves or their peers to these predators," she said during a forum on Internet Safety in KL today (Feb 8).
She brought up one such example from last year’s Ops Pedo 2.0 – a special joint operation conducted by PDRM and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to crack down on child sexual abuse material (CSAM) – that led to among others the arrest of a 17-year-old, who earned RM76,000 over nine months by selling such materials online via platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp and who claimed to have been a victim himself.
“In this case, the suspect sourced content from various online platforms. Buyers were then given access to folders containing CSAM after making payment. The suspect said prices started from RM10,” she said, adding that discounted rates were even offered during festive seasons.
SAC Siti Kamsiah, representing Criminal Investigation Department director Comm Datuk M. Kumar at the event, expressed concerns that children are at risk of being groomed by online predators despite being at home with their parents.
"This is due to unmonitored access and lack of awareness of how easy it is for a predator to initiate contact with a child online.
"The parent could be at the same dinner table as the child but the predator has already started grooming the child in online game chats by showering them with praises," she said.
She urged parents to take a more proactive approach to monitor children's online activity to prevent unwanted incidents.
"Unfortunately, we're seeing more cases of parents reporting that their child may have been harmed by a predator or stranger they met online. We hope to get more parents to recognise 'red flags' or look out for changes in their children's behaviour that could indicate that they have been in contact with a predator," she added.
The forum was organised by the Communications Ministry and MCMC, in conjunction with the launch of the Safe Internet Campaign 2026 on Internet Safety Day here.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said this year's campaign will focus on raising awareness on parental controls, urging parents to focus on setting more effective limits and boundaries on children's digital habits.
