On Monday, Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) secretary Azwiralbukhairi Abdul Aziz was at the Petaling Jaya district police station to help a friend being held in remand in the Nurin Jazlin Jazimin kidnap-murder case.

Yesterday, his photograph appeared in two major newspapers as one of the unnamed suspects released on Monday after being cleared of involvement.

Utusan Malaysia carried clear mugshots of four men - including Azwiralbukhairi - on an inside page, while Berita Harian, Harian Metro, Kosmo and The Malay Mail used pixelised photos.

(The Utusan Malaysia photograph reproduced here has been pixelised except for Azwiralbukhairi's photo, to explain his predicament.)

The paper, which published an apology on Page 4 today, also quoted Azwiralbukhairi, 27, as saying he was shocked and embarrassed.

"Since 8am (yesterday), I have received almost 100 telephone calls from people asking about it. Most of the calls were from family members and friends," he told the newspaper.

"I am embarrassed... Not just for myself, but for my family and my in-laws who have been embarrassed following the publishing of my picture. My wife, who works in a government ministry, has also suffered embarrassment."

He appealed to all media organisations to tread more carefully and not think solely of the commercial value of reports.

"Le the court decided who is guilty or otherwise. The media should not take over the role of the court," he said.

When contacted this afternoon, Berita Harian chief news editor Azizi Othman said: "It was clearly a mistake. But we have spoken to (Azwiralbukhairi) to explain that we need not run an apology because the picture was (pixelised) like the rest. He has understood and he's happy with this."

However, Azwiralbukhairi, when contacted, had a different version.

"I called to speak to Azizi yesterday, but could not get to him. In the evening, he person who answered the phone said they had discussed the matter and decided there was nothing further for them to do because the pictures were all (pixelised).

"Happy? No, I'm not happy, but what else is there to do? The important thing is to find Nurin's murderer. At this point, I don't know if we (in Abim) will venture any further (with legal action or a police report)."

He also disclosed that Abim has written on his behalf to all the newspapers involved, seeking a retraction and an apology.

Abim 'disappointed'

In a statement today, Abim secretary-general Khairul Arifin Mohd Munir chided the media for having ruined Azwiralbukhairi's reputation as a social activist.

Expressing disappointment that Azwiralbukhairi had been wrongly implicated, he said the media - in its eagerness to put out news - should not go to the extent of causing further grief to either Nurin's family or others who are innocent.

"It cannot be denied that the media plays an important role, in this case particularly, because the public wants (to know) that (appropriate) action has been taken," Khairul Arifin said.

"(However), the media should be responsible and meticulous and verify its sources of information."

Police reports lodged

In another development, Selangor CID chief Mazlan Mansor said the police have lodged reports against several newspapers for allegedly jeopardising investigations into the Nurin case.

According to Mazlan, the investigating officer who lodged the report also claimed that the dailies had published unconfirmed and unsubstantiated articles on the case.

"We will record a statement from reporters who wrote articles that jeopardised our investigations," Mazlan was quoted as saying in The Star today.

"Our officers have identified the newspapers as well as the reporters concerned and will be contacting them soon."

He said such irresponsible reporting made it difficult for police to investigate criminal cases.

Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan was also reported to have said that the media should refrain from speculation and from quoting unsubstantiated sources.

Nurin, 8, went missing on Aug 20 after leaving home to go to the night market. Her body was identified on Sept 20 after being found stuffed in a sports bag.

One person remains remanded as investigations continue. Police yesterday released a photo-fit of two others being sought.