GEORGE TOWN: A 26-year-old woman who claimed on a podcast that she was forced into prostitution by an illegal moneylender will appear in the Magistrate Court here on Friday (Oct 25).
George Town Acting OCPD Supt Lee Swee Sake stated that the woman will be charged under Section 504(b) of the Penal Code for intentionally inducing fear and alarm to the public.
“Her actions caused unease in the community and, as a result, she will be charged,” said Supt. Lee in a statement on Thursday (Oct 24).
Police had previously verified that the woman’s allegations of being coerced into prostitution since February, due to her father’s debts, were unfounded and characterized the incident as a mere emotional outburst.
The woman was located safe at a residence in Northern Seberang Perai at 10.50pm on Sept 30.
“It was also determined that she had called the audio programme on July 26,” said the police.
On Sept 29, a six-minute, 45-second podcast video shared by TikTok user Panglima hitam9, went viral on social media, which featured a conversation between the podcast host and the woman.
The woman claimed in the video that she was forced to work for the loan sharks since February at “Rumah Merah” in Penang as a mistress without being paid.
The woman also cried and pleaded to be rescued, alleging that the loan shark was at home.
In the video which has been viewed by 1.3 million people so far in Tik Tok, the host could be heard as saying that the matter was serious and asked the woman to share her location, so that she could be rescued.
