SEXUAL predators are not just grooming children online — they are now abducting their victims, recording and selling child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to fuel local demand.
Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division (D11) Senior Assistant Commissioner Siti Kamsiah Hassan said while the number of cases remains low, the recent developments are concerning.
She acknowledged the rise in such content in Malaysia and said police are going all out to capture the predators and those profiting from CSAM.
This effort, she said, may include targeting subscribers who are complicit in fuelling the underground industry.
MORE LOCAL CSAM VIDEOS
Siti Kamsiah concurred with the New Straits Times' findings that more Malaysians are now seeking local CSAM content.
"Eight years ago, content accessed by Malaysians, or through Malaysian IP addresses, largely involved foreign children. Now, most of it features local children — either as victims or material created by the children themselves in Malaysia," she said.
What troubles Siti Kamsiah the most is the growing involvement of children, some as young as primary school age, in creating and sharing such material via messaging apps.
"We have many cases involving children engaging in sexual activities, recording the acts and sharing the content with friends through messaging applications such as WhatsApp.
"Many of these children are in primary school. They do it for two reasons — for fun and money."
UNDERAGE SEX WITH STRANGERS
Easy access to CSAM has not only increased, it has also disturbingly normalised underage sex, said Siti Kamsiah.
"The easy availability of such content has led to addiction, encouraging these children to experiment with their circle of friends.
"They may not love each other, but they engage in sexual activities with peers or even new acquaintances.
"In the past two years, we've seen a rise in such cases. In many instances, these minors even engage in sexual activity with people they've known for only an hour, whom they met through social media."
HOW ADDICTION LED TO ABDUCTION
Siti Kamsiah revealed another troubling trend: sexual predators are becoming more brazen, to the point of abducting their victims.
She cited a case where a predator addicted to child porn was grooming two victims — girls aged 9 and 10 — online for two years. However, as the girls resided in another state, he was unable to meet them.
"Frustrated, he then went to a public event, where he singled out another girl as his victim.
"He monitored her for three days before deciding to make a move.
"He followed the girl to the bathroom and convinced her to get into his car before driving off with her."
Siti Kamsiah said police tracked the man down and rescued the girl.
Police found that he had sex toys and CSAM, including content featuring the two girls he had been communicating with online.
She said investigations showed that the man kept his "homemade" CSAM for his private collection.
CSAM COMPELS PREDATORS TO SEEK VICTIMS
Exposure to CSAM emboldens and compels predators to act out their lust and seek out victims, said Siti Kamsiah.
She mentioned another case where a CSAM addict abducted two girls, who were friends, from a housing area.
He did so by offering them money to get into his car.
"When the parents realised the girls were missing, they immediately spread the news on social media. This caused the abductor to panic and he released them shortly after.
"We believe this was an attempted abuse. But once the girls' disappearance went viral, he quickly returned them to avoid being caught."
Siti Kamsiah said police's interview with the man's ex-wife revealed that his sexual desire for children led to their break-up.
VICTIMS TURNED PREDATORS
Police's checks showed that in many cases, these predators were once victims of child sexual abuse themselves.
Siti Kamsiah said in the case of the man who abducted the girl from a public event, checks showed that he was a victim of sexual abuse when he was just 10.
"Sometimes, it's due to addiction. But there are also cases where victims seek revenge for their past trauma and target other vulnerable individuals."
She highlighted a critical gap in the legal system, which fails to compel sexual abuse victims to receive the necessary psychological treatment.
"We refer victims to the hospital, but there is no law mandating children to attend psychiatric treatment. As such, many fail to complete the rehabilitation process.
"Also, when the perpetrator is under 10, there is no criminal liability, meaning no charges can be brought against the perpetrator.
"What law do we have to ensure that children receive the rehabilitation they need?" she asked, adding that the impact of sexual abuse can drastically alter a child's behaviour.
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION TO TACKLE CSAM
Police are actively collaborating with international agencies, including the United States-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), to combat the spread of CSAM on social media.
"The NCMEC is a non-governmental organisation that enables the public to report CSAM through a dedicated cyber tip line.
"In the US, the law mandates that registered social media providers fulfil their corporate social responsibility by reporting any CSAM content on their platforms.
"This information is then shared with the NCMEC, which will share it with the authorities in the affected countries," said Siti Kamsiah.
WARNING TO SMUT FANS AND SUBSCRIBERS
Siti Kamsiah issued a clear warning to those seeking and subscribing to such content, stating that they would face serious legal consequences for supporting and sustaining the underground industry.
"The Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 includes several provisions (Sections 5 to 10) that prohibit the production, sharing, selling, distribution, possession and viewing of CSAM.
"This means that fans and followers of these explicit groups can also be charged under the act, including Section 19, which targets those who are aware of child abuse but fail to report it.
"The punishment depends on the severity of the crime, with sentences ranging from a minimum of five years to a maximum of 30 years in prison.
"All offences are also punishable by mandatory caning."