On Tuesday (3rd August), the entertainment industry was shocked by the news of a famous comedian who was arrested by the police. The comedian was suspected of being involved in human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, last Sunday (1st August).
Police investigations revealed that the celebrity was a transporter of sex workers who had been booked via WhatsApp application. He apparently took sex workers from Bukit Jalil and Kuala Lumpur before being transported to a hotel in Kuala Pilah.
A police force stated that the interrogation of the woman arrested revealed that she was involved in prostitution activities conducted by an agent named Kevin whose role was to promote sex services through various social media applications. According to the woman, the male artist was a transporter who would send her to customers who were ready at the hotel.
Since the news became public, various speculations have been circulating on social media regarding the identity of the comedian. So far, the suspect was revealed to be a 40-year-old male celebrity who was once a runner-up for “Maharaja Lawak Mega”, a comedy competition TV show. A few local comedians’ names were brought up by netizens including Tauke Jambu (real name Zamratul Amri Zakaria), Shahrol Shiro (real name Shahrol Azizie Azmi) and Joey Daud (real name Zulkifli Daud).
The comedians collectively denied the allegations made against them and refused to comment further regarding the issue as they were not involved. “It’s true that many had asked me about the said comedian, but I just read it and smiled. As long as it didn’t tarnish my name, I would not reply. After all, that was only the assumption of netizens,” 45-year-old Joey Daud told mStar.
Shahrol through his Instagram stressed that he was not the individual involved. He also pleaded with the public not to simply make assumptions and associate him or other comedians with the issue.
In related news, a photo of a police report went viral as the report mentioned the case and the name of the suspect. It appeared that the suspect’s name starts with the letter ‘Z’. It was also stated in the report that the police had confiscated the suspect’s car, 4 mobile phones and RM 600 cash along with 6 packets of condoms.
The man is currently remanded under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code apart from being compounded for cross-state offences without permission under the Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Regulations.
The identity of ‘Z’ is still being kept in the dark and further investigation into the case are continuing to identify the network of human trafficking activities.
Sources: Harian Metro, Oh! Media, mStar (1) (2)
