PDRM is now on the lookout for an online “reporter” who wrote a story about a couple allegedly having sex on a Penang highway.
The controversial story, which went up on a website called “Penang Post”, included a picture (supposedly taken in Changkat Kledang in Jawi) showing a couple engaged in the act beside a highway. It was then shared by scores of netizens on Facebook.
The article even supposedly quoted the husband and wife duo as saying, “We just felt incredibly horny and wanted to have sex right there. Our car is too small to do it comfortably so we just got out and did it against the side of the motorway.”
As at time of writing, the story is still up.
South Seberang Prai OCPD Supt Shafee Abdul Samad, who was shown the picture in a text message, said the picture was not taken in Penang, adding that no such green fence running along the middle of the highway exists on Malaysian highways. Furthermore, Changkat Kledang in Jawi is a flat coastal area whereas the picture showed an elevated highway crossing a gorge.
Also, once digitally enhanced, it was found that the sign on the fence displayed words that neither Bahasa Malaysia nor English, but what looked like red Chinese characters.
A quick whois check on the domain tells us that www.penangpost.com is not actually owned by a Malaysian. The website owner, or registrant contact, is someone named Shafira Jezmet (likely a fake name) from Azerbaijan (somewhere near Armenia) and the IP address is from the United States. However, the police are convinced that the author behind the posts is Malaysian and are now looking for him/her.
Penang police chief Comm Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye said the posting would be referred to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) after the author’s statement had been taken.
This is not the first time that dubious news from equally dubious websites have received attention on social media, regardless of its authenticity. Remember East Asia Tribune’s 3-part “Five Nights in Pyongyang” or “Five Miles from the DPRK Border” series that everyone quickly lapped up and/or religiously followed?
Sources: penangpost, whois, The Star Online / Featured image: penangpost.
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