Foreign men charged with indecent behaviour at running event in Malaysia, 2 arrested

MALAYSIA: Two foreign men were arrested for indecent behaviour at a Hash House Harriers running event in Johor, Malaysia.

The men, Satyanarayana Prasad Papoli, 70 and Arthur Wang, 66, were fined RM5,000 each, and they both pleaded guilty to wearing indecent clothes at the running event.

According to a South China Morning Post report, Wang is from Taiwan, and Satyanarayana is from India. The men were both accused of committing an obscene act that caused disturbance to others in a public place by wearing indecent clothing.

The offence occurred near a hotel in Jalan Utama Jalan Desaru, Pengerang, between 4 and 6 pm on Friday.

Under Section 294 of the Malaysian Penal Code, public indecency is an offence punishable by up to three months imprisonment or a fine, or both.

Wang said in his defence that he was not familiar with Malaysian culture and did not intend to cause a public nuisance. “I would like to apologise to the people of this country and Malaysians in general, and I promise I will not repeat this mistake.

For the past 10 years, I have been promoting the aboriginal culture of Orchid Island in Taiwan. Had I known that the clothing [would be regarded as] indecent [here], I would not have worn it,” said Wang.

Satyanarayana defended his actions by saying that wearing women’s clothing during hash events was not uncommon but was regretful about his behaviour.

“I came here with the pure intention of doing charity. However, I admit my mistake of wearing women’s clothing,” said Satyanarayana, a former lawyer who’s currently suffering from heart disease.

The event was themed the Red Dress Run and constituted several runs between Oct 4 and Oct 6. However, the entire run became controversial when three participants wore outfits perceived as lewd and strange, which sparked outrage on social media.

HASH HARRIER DEBACLE
ARRESTED FOR WEARING A SAREE, A SKIRT, CARDBOARD CUT OUT. ACCUSED FOR INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR. MIND BOGGLING! DON’T THEY KNOW THESE RUNS ARE USUALLY FOR FUN? WHY THE ORGANISER DON’T DEFEND THESE PEOPLE?? pic.twitter.com/XYymjLReki

— Siti Kasim (@sitikasim) October 6, 2024

Johor’s chief minister, Onn Hafiz Ghazi, said the event was not organized by the state government or any of its agencies and would be investigated.

Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)