A man who was filmed putting an electronic cigarette (vape) into a baby’s mouth at an eatery in Johor was detained yesterday.
North Johor Baru district police commander Rupiah Abd Wahid said the 23-year-old businessman was detained by the Crime Investigation Department at the district police headquarters at 12:45am.
“According to the complainant, at the time of the incident, she and the baby were with her sister and the man at a restaurant,” Rupiah said.
“All of a sudden, the man who was carrying the baby had jokingly placed the non-functioning e-cigarette into the baby’s mouth and this was recorded by the mother’s sister who posted it on social media and it went viral.”
She said the arrest came about after her team received a police report on Aug. 6 from the mother of the 7-month-old newborn girl. The mother said that the man was a friend of her sister’s.
Police launched an investigation upon receiving the report, which led to the suspect’s arrest.
Rupiah said police will apply for a remand order tomorrow under the Child Act for exposing children under care to danger.
According to Rupiah, the individual could receive a maximum 20-year prison sentence, a fine of RM50,000 (USD11,219), or both if proven guilty.
She said the public is advised to be responsible social media users to avoid causing a nuisance to others.
In a 17-second video that went viral on Friday, a guy was seen putting a vape in the mouth of the baby he was carrying, while a woman can be heard laughing in the background. Thankfully, the baby did not have the ability to inhale from the vape.
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