KUALA LUMPUR: Two victims have seen their lives turned upside down due to stalkers obsessively watching their every move.
A 46-year-old property agent, who only wanted to be known as Chin, suffered harassment after a 55-year-old client turned stalker sent her over 2,000 disturbing messages since 2020.
Chin first met her client-turned-stalker, said to be known as Liew, in 2017 when she served as his property agent. Their relationship transitioned into a seemingly budding friendship before turning into a nightmare.
Her friendship with Liew, who claimed to have a "Datuk Seri" title, deteriorated after he began displaying increasingly rude and stalker-like behaviour towards Chin.
"It started with him leaving flowery gift baskets outside my apartment daily, despite only residents with access cards being allowed into the building. This made both me and my children fear for our safety," she said during a press conference at Wisma MCA on Tuesday (Aug 20).
In 2020, Chin discovered that Liew had rented an apartment directly under hers to keep tabs on her, after she complained to the apartment management about his daily visits.
Liew's behaviour escalated to sexually-motivated stalker antics.
"His messages and emails became weird and aggressive. He started asking me about personal matters that I hadn't shared with anyone. He somehow knew immediately after I took a bank loan, including the bank and amount, despite me not telling anyone.
"He even offered me RM1mil to give birth to his baby and declared his love for me. He sent daily selfies, sometimes in only underwear, with explicit messages," she said.
Liew's behaviour turned darker when he began threatening Chin and defaming her to those around her, including her friends, daughters, mother, and ex-husband.
"He spread rumours that I was mentally ill while portraying himself as a loving man who wanted to help.
His messages became hostile and insulting, calling me ugly and daring me to make a police report. He threatened to sue me for defamation and openly sexually harassed me," she said.
Chin continues to live in fear as Liew sends messages through new phone numbers and emails, despite her blocking them.
Similarly, a couple from Mentakab, Pahang, faced harassment from a stalker who nearly ruined their married life.
Air conditioner technician Lim Kai Shian, 31, and his wife, Fong Meng Min, 29, have been subjected to online slander since January 2022.
Lim reported that the stalker fabricated defamatory posts about them and accused him of infidelity, nearly leading to the dissolution of his marriage.
"The stalker directly messaged my wife, claiming I had slept with and impregnated them. The stalker then messaged me, claiming they had a sex video of my wife's infidelity.
Despite their failed attempts, the stalker continues to post about our family activities," he said during the same press conference.
Lim expressed despair after seeing no action taken against the stalker despite filing multiple police reports and complaints with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission since 2022.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said stalking is widespread in Malaysia, but amendments to the Penal Code last year now make stalking a crime.
"These cases have been ongoing for years, but now with the amendments, we can hopefully see some justice. I encourage more victims to come forward and for the police to continue their investigations with utmost effort,” he said after the press conference.
In March last year, the Dewan Rakyat passed amendments to the Penal Code, making it a crime to stalk victims both physically and online.
Under Section 507A, anyone who repeatedly harasses, intending to cause distress, fear, or alarm for a person's safety, commits the offence of stalking. The offence is punishable with a maximum jail term of three years, a fine, or both upon conviction.
The anti-stalking and protection order provisions came into force in May last year.
