UPDATE: Sugarbook CEO back behind bars for 7 days
The Shah Alam High Court today rejected the police’s application to remand the founder of Malaysian sugar dating site Sugarbook.
Foong Cheng Leong, the lawyer representing Darren Chan, confirmed with reporters today that the high court has dismissed the application after his client pledged to cooperate with the police in their investigation.
Police arrested the 34-year old at his home in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, at 4:30pm yesterday, not long after Chan changed the website address for his dating platform to skirt a ban and issued an apology after his company drew backlash over a data report showing that local universities were hotspots for sugar babies.
Chan is being investigated for allegedly soliciting prostitution, publishing rumors, and sharing content deemed offensive under the Communications and Multimedia Act.
“The suspect admitted to being the founder of Sugarbook upon his arrest,” police representative Fadzil Ahmat told reporters yesterday.
The company recently released data gathered from its website detailing the top ten universities in Malaysia where one can find sugar babies. Sunway University, which topped the list, objected to the report’s findings. Media authorities later banned the Sugarbook website, calling the report a “marketing gimmick.”
READ: Sunway Uni in KL salty it was named #1 hotspot for finding sugar babies
Chan established Sugarbook in 2016 and has since expanded it to other countries including Singapore, the United States, and Thailand. The “pay-to-play” dating site is a platform for sugar daddies and babies to meet.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with details of the high court’s decision to reject the police’s remand application.
Other stories to check out:
Sugarbook skirts ban with new name Sucrebook in URL
Sunway Uni in KL salty it was named #1 hotspot for finding sugar babies
