JOHOR BARU: Four business owners have been detained by the Home Ministry for selling sex toys in four states.
The ministry’s enforcement and controls division secretary Nik Yusaimi Yussof said 2,295 units of sex toys such as dildos and vibrators worth about RM70,000 were also seized during each of the raids in Johor, Penang, Perak and Sarawak.
The raids started early this year until Feb 6 based on the ministry’s intelligence, he said.
“On Jan 29, we raided a cosmetics and health store shop in Masai, Johor Baru and found that it also sold sex toys openly.
“We seized 2,012 sex toys from the shop and its storeroom worth RM37,350, which was the highest seizure so far this year,” he said in a press conference at the Johor Home Ministry office in Setia Tropika here on Thursday (Feb 15).
On Feb 6, the ministry raided a shopping mall outlet in Bayan Lepas, Penang and detained the owner, a woman, and seized 102 units of sex toys worth RM15,732.
On the same day, the ministry also seized 46 sex toys worth RM6,050 from a shopping mall premises in Ipoh, Perak and detained the male business owner.
Nik Yusaimi added that in a raid in Kuching, Sarawak on Jan 18, the ministry detained a woman and seized 135 units of sex toys worth RM10,890.50, also from a shopping mall outlet.
“All the suspects are in their 30s and we have opened an investigation paper under Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 for ‘eroding moral values’ for each of the cases.
“It will also be investigated under Section 292 of the Penal Code,” he added.
Nik Yusaimi said the ministry will take action against those involved in activities that could erode moral values or jeopardise public order and safety, and urged the public to channel information on such illegal activities to the ministry via 03-8000 8000 or through www.moha.gov.my.