JOHOR BARU, Sept 6 – Police have arrested a 24-year-old school bus driver here early this morning after he was alleged to have secretly recorded videos of primary schoolgirls that he uploads in a popular video platform.
The driver was criticised for sexual harassment against children yesterday following a TikTok video posting where he allegedly proclaimed that one of the schoolgirls was his ideal “crush”.
Johor police chief M. Kumar said the suspect was arrested at an undisclosed location in Simpang Renggam, near Kluang at 2.57am.
He said the pre-dawn arrest was conducted by a team from the Kluang police Criminal Investigation Division (CID) after authorities received a report.
“Police also seized a mobile phone that was believed to be used to upload the video,” he said in a statement today.
Earlier, Kumar said initial investigations revealed that the video footage in question showed children inside a bus driven by a man.
“The video was uploaded by the TikTok account owner under the Abang Bas handle,” he said, adding that the video posting was still available and can be publicly accessed.
Kumar said investigations into the case will be under Section 15 (a)(iii) of the Sexual Offenses Against Children Act 2017 and Section 15(2) of the Child Act 2001.
The two sections relate to issues regarding child pornography and the publishing images of children who are under legal protection.
The state’s top cop said police also welcomed the cooperation from parents of the children who were featured in the TikTok video to assist in investigations.
Yesterday, the issue became heated on social media as it touches on sexual harassment against children.
Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri called on police to investigate the matter.
In a message on her X (formerly Twittelr), she said that Child Development Department (JPKK) have been instructed to take strict action against the culprit behind the TikTok videos.
The bus driver’s TikTok account, featuring videos of the schoolgirls, has more than 600,000 followers. The videos have so far had 10.5 million likes.