Malaysia police probe nude sports event in Penang

A still from a video showing ‘naturists’ participating in nude sports games at a beach said to be located in Teluk Bahang, Penang. PHOTO from The Star/ANN

BALIK PULAU/GEORGETOWN—Caught on video, 18 so-called “naturists” which include four women are in trouble with the police for purportedly taking part in nude events at a beach in Teluk Bahang, Penang in Malaysia.

The five-minute video shows them in the nude participating in activities such as body painting, a relay race, a group crab-walk and a Gangnam Style dance with one woman riding a man who was on all fours like a horse, among others.

Labelled “Penang Nude Sports Games 2014”, the video was allegedly shot at Teluk Kampi, which is touted as the longest beach at the Penang National Park.

If found guilty under Section 509 of the Penal Code for committing a gesture intended to insult the modesty of a person, they face a jail term of up to five years, a fine or both, said the police.

Penang police chief Senior Deputy Comm Wira Abdul Rahim Hanafi said they were looking for the event organizer and the participants, who could be foreigners.

He said Penang Perkasa had lodged a police report on the incident.

Teluk Bahang PKR coordinator Halil Sabri Hamid and Teluk Bahang Village Security and Development Committee chairman Mohd Zul Amin also lodged police reports.

The two-kilometer stretch of beach is about 4.5 kilometers from the entrance of the park and about 35 minutes by boat from the Teluk Bahang jetty.

One of the participants, identified only as Justin, claimed that a park ranger was told about the event before they went to a hut and stripped off their clothes.

Aside from taking pictures of each other in the nude, the participants strolled about and danced with one another. They also sat around a fire and camped for the night.

The clip was uploaded to video-sharing website Vimeo about two months ago by someone using the name Albert Yam. It was taken down sometime before 2pm yesterday.

Teluk Bahang assemblyman Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain said park officers had been instructed to check the visitor registration records for clues.

“The background in the clip resembles a site at the Penang National Park. But it is hard to imagine that these nudists could have gone unnoticed when about 500 people visit the park daily.

“We are afraid that the video may have been doctored. It is best that we let the authorities investigate and not jump to conclusions but if such a thing did indeed happen here, I feel that it shouldn’t have as we are a conservative country,” he added.

Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government was not aware of the purported event.

The state would not even approve a casino, he said, let alone sanction an event for nudists.

Since the park comes under the purview of the federal government, Lim said that he would leave it to the relevant authorities to take action if the incident had indeed taken place.