GEORGE TOWN: An affluent neighbourhood in Bayan Lepas here was rocked when police found a hoard of pornographic material, some suspected to be Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), during a raid in one of the homes last night.
The suspect, when confronted by police over the material, admitted that he enjoyed looking at children as they were "fresh."
The raid at the house was part of "Op Pedo Bersepadu PDRM-MCMC" - spearheaded by Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women, and Child Investigations Division (D11) in cooperation with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) - to nab those suspected of possessing and distributing CSAM.
It involved a series of coordinated raids across six states; Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Terengganu, Penang and Perak.
The suspect, an engineer in his 40s, was at home alone when police visited the three-storey house.
He said his wife and children were on holiday abroad.
The suspect led the authorities to the second floor, which had two computers. Police found more than 2,000 pornographic material on one of them.
The suspect told police that he saved the pornographic materials for his own viewing.
He also admitted to investigators that he enjoyed looking at young children as they were "fresh."
Police inspected his cell phone and seized his computer setup as well as the modem and router.
He was later taken to the Bayan Baru police station for further investigation.
The case is being investigated under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act for accessing child pornography and Section 292 of the Penal Code for possession of obscene materials.
Last week the New Straits Times ran a series of reports on the rampant sale of Malaysian-made explicit content, including CSAM, on social media and messaging platforms.
The NST's investigation also showed how CSAM content was being sold for as cheap as RM1 per video, raising concerns among parents over the safety of their children.
Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division (D11) Principal Assistant Director, Senior Assistant Commissioner Siti Kamsiah Hassan had spoken on trends which showed that access to such pornography had made predators even more brazen, with some going to the extent of attempting to abduct children.
She also highlighted how easy access to pornographic content has led to severe addiction resulting in children, some as young as primary school pupils, becoming involved in creating and profiting from CSAM content.
The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had told the NST how cybercriminals trafficking in CSAM were exploiting advanced encryption technology to avoid arrest.
Malaysia, it said, has forged alliances with the FBI and other international entities to leverage real-time coordination of operations to shut down priority and high-impact targets.