Earlier today (2nd January), transgender rights activist Nisha Ayub took to Facebook to share the disturbing news of yet another murder case involving a transgender woman in Klang.
According to her post, a 39-year-old transwoman was found dead at a dumping area in Klang during the early hours of New Year’s Day yesterday (1st January).
The suspected murderer has since been arrested, but in her post, Nisha stressed the importance of better laws to protect transgender people and other members of the LGBT community from hate crimes. She also highlighted that transgender people are especially vulnerable to hate crimes because of how visible they are in society.
In an update by The Star, the victim reportedly fell out of a moving vehicle after arguing with the driver over a stolen phone. The person believed to be the driver, a 55-year-old man, was arrested by police a few hours after the incident. He has been remanded for 7 days.
The 39-year-old victim sustained injuries to her knee, ankle, eyebrow, and nose. She also had severe head injuries, believed to be the cause of her death.
Just last week, a viral video of two men being beaten up for allegedly engaging in sexual intercourse in a car surfaced online. The violent act was condemned by Malaysian netizens and local LGBT rights organisation PELANGI Campaign, who deemed this a hate crime.
A few days before that, four teens in Klang were also charged for murdering a 32-year-old transgender woman on 24th December. The victim was declared dead at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) on 13th December.
The victim reportedly suffered 32 different injuries on her body, including a cracked skull and internal bleeding in her brain after she was beaten up by the group who also accused her of stealing a phone. However, Klang Selatan police chief Assistant Commissioner Shamsul Amar Ramli denied that this case was a hate crime.
Source: Asian Correspondent
Addressing this most recent case involving the 39-year-old transgender woman, Nisha Ayub urged the government to look into the issue of transgender people being assaulted and murdered so this community can be protected.
Our condolences go out to the victim’s family and friends, and we hope her murderer is appropriately punished by the authorities.
