Chinese man among 51 charged after Kuala Lumpur hotel drug raid

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s narcotics crime division carried out several raids in Kuala Lumpur last week, arresting 51 individuals at a drug-fuelled gay party.

One of the raids was carried out at a luxury hotel. One person was found collapsed on the floor at one of the establishments. The person died in the hospital.

The statements from the police have raised alarm and protests from activists who said they are unhappy that the words “gay party” and “immoral” were used in the wake of the arrests.

However, the latest information now reveals that a Chinese national who was arrested alongside 50 others at a Kuala Lumpur hotel is believed to be the organiser of the event.

Bukit Aman narcotics crime investigation department director Hussein Omar Khan said investigations found that the man promoted the party on Instagram using his private account, a local Malay-language portal said.

Whether the drugs seized at the raids were used for distribution outside the establishments is not known, but police said they were used by participants in the party.

“However, further investigations are ongoing to identify the supplier of the drugs,” Hussein said, adding that all 51 people nabbed in the raid on the party have been charged in court with various drug offences.

The Chinese man was charged with self-administering drugs, and at least thirty-four of those arrested were also charged with drug possession.

The raid on May 24 resulted in the seizure of drugs estimated to be worth RM103,070, including 1.15kg of liquid MDMA, 284g of powdered MDMA, 8.56g of ecstasy, and 11.61g of ketamine.

Nevertheless, Criminal lawyer Goh Cia Yee said terms such as “gay party” were “unrelated to a drug possession and consumption investigation” and could risk prejudicing those arrested before any charges were filed. He spoke to the South China Morning Post on the raids.

Benjamin Loh, a lecturer in communication and media studies at Monash University Malaysia, told SCMP that linking LGBTQ gatherings with drugs, HIV or other vices was a familiar tactic used to stigmatise sexual minorities.

Malaysia does not recognise LGBTQ rights, and same-sex conduct remains criminalised under colonial-era provisions of the Penal Code, with penalties of up to 20 years in prison and whipping.

The raids remind us of a police raid on a private bungalow in Kelantan that led to the detention of more than 20 men in what Malaysian authorities have described as a “gay party”.

That was the first such case reported in the deeply conservative northern state.

The raid, which took place in June last but was only disclosed on Thursday, also uncovered hundreds of condoms and several boxes of HIV medication.

“Investigations found that there was no sexual activity on location during the raid, and that all the suspects were fully clothed,” according to Kelantan police chief Mohd Yusoff Mamat.was quoted as saying by the national newswire Bernama.

“However, the discovery of the condoms and HIV medication showed that preparations were in place if [sexual activity] were to happen.”