Johor Police Confirm Receiving Tebrau MP's Report Over Sex Threat Email

JOHOR BAHRU, Sept 16  (Bernama) -- Police have confirmed receiving a report from Tebrau Member of Parliament Jimmy Puah Wee Tse, who claimed he was threatened via email with a fake pornographic video generated using artificial intelligence (AI) with a demand of nearly RM470,000.

Johor Police Chief CP Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the report was lodged at 9.30 am today at the Permas Jaya Police Station.

 “The case is being investigated under Section 385 of the Penal Code (for blackmail) and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMMA) 1998,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Puah, when met by reporters after lodging the police report, said he received the email at about 5.30 pm yesterday via his official office address in Parliament.

“In the email, there was a picture of an individual who resembled me in an indecent situation with another individual. It was actually a screenshot from a video,” he said.

Puah said the email sender also demanded a payment of USD100,000 (about RM470,000) within three days to prevent the video from being spread.

There was also a QR code for payment using an overseas system, said the Johor PKR vice-chairman, insisting that the images were fake and the result of manipulation by Deepfake AI technology and that he would also file a complaint with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

“I believe this attempt was made from overseas. I hope the authorities can take immediate action because the content may have already spread on the internet,” he said.

Puah said several other Members of Parliament have also reportedly received similar threats, with a special memo on the matter issued by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker’s office recently

-- BERNAMA