K'tan cops insist no health workers at 'gay party' raid, NGO says otherwise

Summary

• Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat insists the June 17 event they raided was a “gay party” with no health workers present, denying NGO involvement when police swooped in.

• NGO activist Thilaga Sulathireh disputes this, saying seven health workers were caught up in the raid and had explained to police that it was a health outreach programme.

Kelantan police have doubled down on their claim that the event they raided on June 17 was a “gay party”, saying there were no health workers present when officers swooped in.

However, an activist from a group that monitored the event disputed this, saying that seven NGO health outreach workers were caught up in the raid.

Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat said in a statement last night that an invitation to the event the police had found, which was circulated among certain WhatsApp groups, did not mention that it was a health outreach programme.

The message, as shared by police, was an invitation to a community “gathering and chill” event. It also did not say it was a gay party.

However, Yusoff (above) noted it didn’t state the involvement of any NGOs, government clinics, or the Health Ministry either.

Additionally, the message did not appear to corroborate Yusoff’s earlier claim that there was a participation fee, nor was any other evidence presented in the police press statement.

Several NGOs and the Malaysian Aids Council (MAC) have since said that the event was a health outreach programme focusing on HIV and not a gay party as alleged.

The Health Ministry has also affirmed that there was a health outreach programme on the day, organised by an NGO, which it supported.

‘We acted on evidence, intelligence’

Detailing the chronology of events from the police’s perspective, Yusoff said they began surveilling the event at 5pm, three hours before it began. 

When the event started, he noted that those present were eating and having casual conversations.

He said most participants had left by 11pm, but police continued to wait before taking action to avoid any risk to public safety.

At 1am, he said officers raided the event space and found 20 men, all of whom allegedly admitted to being gay.

He claimed that they were the only people there at the time, and that no NGO workers or health officers were present.

Yusoff said that the police had acted on valid evidence and intelligence, without discriminatory intent.

‘NGO workers caught up in raid’

When contacted, Justice for Sisters (JFS) co-founder and researcher Thilaga Sulathireh disputed the police’s version of events.

While confirming that officers linked to the Health Ministry had left by the time of the raid, the LGBTQ+ activist said seven NGO health outreach workers were among the 20 present.

“The NGO health outreach workers were still there. In fact, when the raid happened, the NGO workers who were there contacted their colleagues,” Thilaga told Malaysiakini.

They claimed that documentation by JFS noted that the NGO health workers had explained to the police that it was a health programme.

However, the workers were also subjected to urine tests, they said.

HIV testing

Meanwhile, they also clarified why an initial statement by NGOs over the weekend claimed that all 20 were attendees waiting for HIV test results.

Thilaga said that, at the time, generic language was used due to several concerns.

The MAC said the session had extended beyond midnight because HIV testing was done confidentially and professionally, and took time.

The raid had resulted in three individuals being arrested and later charged with possession of pornography.

Yusoff, in his press statement, had detailed the type of pornography that was found. 

Lawyer Samantha Chong, who represented the three, told Malaysiakini those details were not in the charges filed against them in court.

The trio had pleaded guilty to the charges on Sunday and were fined between RM3,000 and RM4,000.

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