Suspected serial rapist who befriended victims through Wechat is arrested

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Police have detained a man for allegedly raping a Form One student who he befriended through the Wechat social website.
Seberang Prai Tengah (SPT) district police chief ACP Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said the suspect, aged 37, was arrested at a shopping centre in Prai here yesterday, believed to be waiting for another victim, whom he also befriended though Wechat.
He said the arrest was made following a report lodged by the 13-year-old victim.
Nik Ros Azhan said police seized a phone from the suspect believed to have been used to send messages to his victims using the Wechat application.
"The suspect claimed he sold medicine for breast enlargement, and sometimes claimed he is a woman and asked the buyer to take photographs of their breast.
"After that he'll get the buyer to meet him at the shoping center and if they refused, threatened to spread images of their breast," he said, adding that the victims would then be taken to an empty shop house where he allegedly raped them.
Nik Ros Azhan said the suspect, in remand for six days to facilitate police investigation, also claimed that he he had raped three other girls using the same modus operandi.
As such, he urged those who had fallen victim to such a scam to lodge police reports.
In another development, he said police detained two men, aged 25 and 26, for alleged house-breaking and motorcycle theft.
Police arrested them, while they were on a motorcycle, after they were seen behaving suspiciously at Taman Sejahtera here at about 3.40am yesterday and seized several house breaking tools from them, he said, adding that both had previous criminal records. — Bernama