KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police are looking for those responsible in placing a hidden camera within a wall power socket in a room of a lodging establishment here where a newly-wed Chinese couple had stayed in earlier this month.
This was after the tourists’ claims were published in a Chinese social media platform and went viral yesterday.
It was subsequently picked up by a number of online sites and news portals.
Kota Kinabalu Police Chief Asst Comm Mohd Zaidi Abdullah confirmed the police have received a report from the Chinese pair at 5.27pm on Sept 7.
He said police had been monitoring the viral news over the couple’s claims on the hidden camera being placed inside the room of lodging they had booked to stay here.
A probe had been conducted at the said premises, he said, adding they have seized the spy cam in question.
“Efforts are underway to identity the suspect(s) involved,” ACP Mohd Zaidi said, in a statement yesterday.
He added police were currently investigating the case under Section 509 of the Penal Code for outrage of modesty.
It was reported that the Chinese couple were shocked to find the camera strategically positioned within a wall socket to face their bed during their stay at an Airbnb in Kota Kinabalu.
The couple posted the alleged incident on Chinese social media platform XiaoHongShu, questioning whether it was safe to travel in Malaysia, which in turn attracted a flurry of comments.
“Discovered hidden cameras in the guesthouse. Is it safe to travel to Malaysia?”, wrote the tourist, under the name Zhenmei Beauty.
They had apparently landed in Kota Kinabalu at 2am on Sept 6, and after arriving at their place of accommodation later, were in shock to discover the camera placed within two USB ports in the wall.
The couple said they had lodged a report over the matter but claimed they were advised by the police to remove their postings over the matter in their social media account.
To this, ACP Mohd Zaidi denied the claim, saying they had never asked the couple to do as such.
Towards this end, he urged those with information pertaining to the case to assist in the probe by contacting the Kota Kinabalu CID chief Deputy Supt Khairul Shah Peri at 011-2669 1994.
