Malaysian men beaten up and dragged out of car for ‘having gay sex’
Still from video circulated on social media (@annazrulan).
A video showing two young men being beaten up for allegedly having sex in a car has gone viral as activists call on the Malaysian authority to investigate.
The 96-second viral video shows two shirtless men in Malaysia being ordered to leave their car by a group of unknown assailants wearing hi-viz jackets before being beaten up and attacked.
The video was first shared by LGBT+ activist Numan Afifi, who is also the president of LGBT+ rights group PELANGI Group. Sharing the video, Afifi added: “THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!
“I categorically condemn this anti-gay violence and call on the authority to investigate on this hate crime.”
Twitter post by Numan Afifi on the anti-gay viral video (@NumanAfifi)
The viral video clip, which has been seen over 230,000 times, ends with the attackers demanding the victims’ identity cards. It’s unclear who the attackers are, but users on social media have speculated that they could be security guards or members of the Rukun Tetangga, a Malaysian community development group.
In further tweets, Afifi wrote: “If you think that by beating us up, you can make us afraid, then yes, we are afraid for our safety. But we are also angry.”
Legal director and human rights lawyer Eric Paulsen tweeted: “This is serious assault, an aggravated hate crime.”
“If you know any gay friends, go hug or fist-bump them today, hold their hands tight and let them know that they are loved.”
—Numan Afifi
His post added: “Hope the authorities will investigate & arrest the perpetrators. Everyone deserves equal protection under the law.”
While the location and time of the attack are not yet known, it is believed that people have been reporting the incident to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Providing further support to the community, Afifi added in a follow-up tweet: “If you know any gay friends, go hug or fist-bump them today, hold their hands tight and let them know that they are loved.
“Tell them that you’ll stand with them as we embrace the end of 2018 that is still homophobic.”
The incident follows the recent news that four people were charged with the brutal murder of a trans woman in Bukit Tinggi.
