Malaysia police to review procedures after arrests over same-sex activities lead to no charges

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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Law-enforcement authorities in Malaysia will review procedures after the release without charge of 171 people arrested during a raid last week on suspicion of same-sex activities, state media reported on Monday, citing a top official.

Homosexuality is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia, a multi-ethnic, multi-faith country that has a dual-track legal system with Islamic laws for Muslims running alongside civil laws. Sodomy is a crime and Islamic sharia law is in place banning same-sex acts and cross-dressing.

Police arrested 208 people, including 37 foreign nationals, suspected of same-sex activities in a health club in Kuala Lumpur last Friday, state news agency Bernama reported.  

Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Fadil Marsus said authorities then released 171 local nationals from custody on Sunday after finding no evidence to prosecute them, Bernama reported.

“We do not want a situation where raids and arrests are carried out but in the end the evidence is inadmissible,” Fadil was quoted as saying.   

Saiful Haszrul of Jejaka, a gay, queer and bisexual rights group, said that only one foreign national arrested in Friday’s raid remained in police custody for overstaying their visa, while the others had all been released.     

Rights groups condemned Malaysian authorities for the raid, saying that many of those arrested were held unlawfully by the police for almost two days, even after a court ordered their release.       

The police and Home Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the case and on allegations of unlawful detention.  

Rights groups have warned of growing intolerance towards LGBTQ people, who face increasing scrutiny in the Southeast Asian country. 

In June, Malaysian police arrested dozens of men in Kelantan state during a raid on what they called a “gay party”, although judicial authorities found no evidence that sexual activities had occurred and released most of the men as there were no specific laws or physical evidence to prosecute them.

(Reporting by Danial Azhar; editing by Mark Heinrich)