The owner of a local sexual enhancement products firm who kissed a boy on TikTok turned himself in at around noon today, hours after police called for a manhunt.
Xipa Academy owner Muhamad Norhisham Harun surrendered not long after the police launched the search this morning. He remained under police custody while authorities continue to investigate, according to police spokesperson Siti Kamsiah Hassan. There was no word on the boy.
“The suspect turned himself in at a police station in the city and he was arrested for further investigation,” Siti said. “He is now in police custody.”
The search was launched after the now-deleted video went up Monday, showing Norhisham placing his arm around the unidentified boy and introducing him as his newly adopted younger brother before giving a peck on the lips. The police investigation, which also involves looking for the boy, began after a formal complaint was filed by an activist.
“The investigation into the case gears towards the Sexual Offences against Children Act and focuses on tracking down the child,” police spokesperson Siti Kamsiah Hassan told reporters today without elaborating on the businessman. Children’s rights activist Akhi Fairuz Al-Jengkawi filed the police report on Monday, hours before the video was taken down.
Norhisham’s TikTok account, where he calls himself “Papa Idola Semalaya” or Malaya’s Daddy Idol, along with Xipa’s social media pages were no longer publicly available when Coconuts checked today. The entrepreneur, who sells sexual enhancement products for men including “Bossque” coffee and leech oil he claimed could strengthen one’s sexual prowess, did not immediately respond to calls.
His TikTok videos have been reposted elsewhere including on Twitter, where the kissing video has been viewed over 700,000 times. The clip was posted in response to a comment saying that the duo looked like they were dating.
“This boy has been adopted by my family and therefore he is my brother,” he was heard saying.
A separate video of the duo circulating online showed Norhisham appearing to respond to the backlash about him kissing, telling critics that they didn’t know the full story.
“They don’t know anything and yet they criticize us. But that’s OK, maybe their family is not like ours. Our family is full of love,” he was heard saying in Malay while looking at his adopted brother, who kissed Norhisham’s cheek at the end of the clip.
In the police report, Akhi accused Norhisham of sexual grooming.
“I would like to make a report on the obscene actions of an individual known to many as Papa Idola Semalaya, or Hisham, towards a teenager that is believed to be on the autism spectrum,” the report said, later adding: “The video shows Hisham kissing the boy, which is a form of child sexual grooming.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated with details of Norhisham’s arrest.
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