MELAKA: A private Telegram dating group that doctored images of locals, including an elderly woman, has been shut down, says Kota Laksamana assemblyman Low Chee Leong.
He said the chat group no longer exists after The Star reported about the scam on Sept 12.
ALSO READ: Doctored lewd images of victims posted on fake 'dating' chat group, says Melaka exco
"My team made a check and discovered that the chat group was shut down on Sept 13.
"This has brought much relief to the victims who had suffered emotionally after discovering obscene doctored pictures of them being uploaded into the chat group," he said after launching an event to instil patriotism among youths at Accelskill Academy in Jalan Hang Tuah here on Thursday (Sept 21).
CEO of Accelskill K. Annadurai was also present during the event which saw the participation of over 300 people.
Low said the images of hundreds of locals, including that of a 65-year-old grandmother from his constituency, were reportedly uploaded into a private Telegram dating group.
He said the 19-year-old grandson of the elderly woman was aghast after discovering that fake pictures of his granny in a bikini were uploaded into the chat group and contacted him to take action.
Low had also received complaints about doctored photos of female executives, housewives and even young men that were extracted from social media to be uploaded into the dating group.
"These victims were embarrassed to see their pictures doctored to show them in bathing suits and underwear," he said.
He said the chat group claimed that there were 700,000 members and was purely a dating site but instead displayed inappropriate pictures of innocent victims.
Meanwhile, Low, who is also the Melaka Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security Committee deputy chairman, said the state will receive 3,000 bags of local white rice weighing 10kg each on Monday (Sept 25).
He added that the supplies will be distributed accordingly by the state Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama).
