Recently, a group of NGOs and individuals signed a joint statement calling out the Kelantan state police for labelling their apparent HIV awareness and education health event as a ‘gay sex party’. Later, the Ministry of Health and its Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, expressed their support for the event’s organiser.
Now, the Kelantan state police are insisting they have proof the event was not a health-related one.
According to a report by Kosmo, the Kelantan Police Chief, Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat, stressed that there was no information indicating that the event had received approval or was being monitored by any authority. He added that the police raided the event based on intelligence and valid evidence, without any discriminatory intent.
The information received found that a gay meeting and party would be held in Kota Bharu.
“The results of intelligence and public interviews conducted by the Kelantan PDRM Task Force found that invitations to the program came via WhatsApp, in a specific group. On the day of the incident, the Task Force monitored the residence starting from 5pm, and this increased to about 100 people by 8pm, who were detected present at the location,” he said.
Those present were seen eating and chatting before a majority of participants left at about 11pm.
They waited until past midnight to raid the event
The raid team had taken precautionary measures and only carried out action at 1am, to ensure that the operation ran smoothly without risk to public safety.
“During the raid, the police found 20 men at the premises, and they admitted to being from the gay community. In addition, it was found that there were no representatives from NGOs or any government health agency present, including the Ministry of Health,”
“I would like to emphasise that the police’s actions are based on intelligence and valid evidence without any discriminatory intent. The main purpose of PDRM is to maintain public order and also the moral values of society. The police hope that this explanation can dispel the confusion and speculation that has spread,” he added.
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