KUALA LUMPUR – Live-streaming a police raid or arrest is an offence as it obstructs police officers from carrying out their duties, the Home Ministry said.
In a parliamentary written reply, the ministry said it also violates Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which covers posting of content with the intention to annoy others.
“Recording of photos or videos is not a crime. However, it can be considered an offence if members of the public record a video or live-stream using their mobile phones while police officers are carrying out a raid or making an arrest.
“Those who do so face action because they are deemed to have obstructed a public officer from performing their duties and for obstructing investigations,” the ministry said.
The Home Ministry was replying to Lim Lip Eng (Kepong-PH) who asked the ministry to state whether police have the power to check people’s mobile phones during roadblocks or after pulling them over by the roadside.
Lim also asked if it was wrong for the public to record police in action in a public place using their cell phones.
The ministry, in its reply, said police have the right to request or seize phones of persons they suspect have been involved in a crime, or who are part of an ongoing investigation.
Seizures of phones will not be done to “random members of the public”, the ministry added.
The laws that empower police to seize mobile phones are the Penal Code; Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998; Sedition Act 1948; Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012; Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 [Act 670]; and Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015. – The Vibes, August 1, 2022
