Single Mother Fined RM2k Over Porn Found In Her Phone, Malaysians Raise Questions On Privacy Rights

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A canteen assistant from Bachok, Kelantan, was slapped with a RM2,000 fine when police found pornographic videos in her mobile phone earlier this month.

The accused, a 32-year-old single mother, was sentenced by Magistrate Fakhrul Razzi Abd Hamid after she pleaded guilty to the charges read out to her, as reported by Sinar Harian.

According to the charge, she was found in possession of a Realme 9 smartphone containing 100 pornographic video recordings at a house in Kampung Kubang Telaga last Monday (6 April).

The offence was charged under Section 292 of the Penal Code which provides for a prison sentence of up to three years, a fine, or both, if convicted.

Based on the facts of the case, the raid was carried out by a police team from Branch 11 (Sexual/Cyber) of the Kelantan Contingent Police Headquarters along with several other units based on information from Op Cyber Guardian.The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor, Muhammad Aiman ​​Syahmi Yazid while the accused was represented by lawyer from the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK), Norizaidah Abdul Salam.During the proceedings, the lawyer said her client was also a single mother and requested a fine because she only earned RM35 a day.

Op Cyber Guardian is a regional, multi-country operation (including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan) launched in early 2025 to combat online child sexual exploitation. The operation targets individuals who produce, access, and store child sexual abuse material (CSAM), involving raids on electronic devices.

However, news reports did not explicitly state the nature of the pornographic material found in the accused’s device.

Malaysians raise questions on rights to digital privacy

Commenting on the news, the public asked on social media as to how the Kelantan police knew the accused possessed pornographic videos on her phone, raising questions on rights to privacy.

“That’s her right. Even if she wanted to keep a thousand videos, that’s up to her. Why arrest her? What happened to basic human rights?” a Threads user asked.

“Police have the right to look into a citizen’s mobile phone? Don’t forget that many of us have e-mails, e-banking, and financial accounts on there. If money goes missing from those accounts, are the police going to take responsibility?” asked another user.

Meanwhile, others raised more serious issues such as men marrying underaged girls and expressing frustration towards authorities for focusing on a case they perceive as trivial.

Can police actually check your phone?

Apparently, they can.

According to a Bernama report dated 13 January 2025, former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said police have the authority to check a citizen’s mobile phone if there is suspicion or information suggesting they have committed a crime, as stipulated under Section 23(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

He added that it is also based on provisions under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (AKM) 1998.

“Section 249 of the AKM 1988 authorises access to computerised data, including mobile phones, while Section 116B of the Criminal Procedure Code grants access to mobile phones, which are regarded as computerised data, when a person is suspected of committing a crime,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

However, only police officers with a rank of Inspector or higher are authorised to conduct checks on mobile phones, according to Razarudin.

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