KUALA LUMPUR: A fake article utilising the New Straits Times’ (NST) name and design format has gone viral with its sensational and fraudulent claim that police recently crippled a prostitution syndicate peddling the sexual services of Punjabi women.
Titled “PDRM busts prostitution racket involving educated Punjabi girls”, the article falsely alleges that eight women of Punjabi descent were detained for offering sexual services during a vice operation dubbed “Op Mega 3.0” conducted in the Klang Valley on Oct 3.
Fraudulently attributed to NST journalist Faris Fuad, the fake article goes on to claim that the women are well-educated, married and “belong to well-to-do families.”
The bogus report even quotes “Director-general Datuk Seri Rahim Ali” as saying that the women were forced into prostitution by their husbands or families to obtain “easy money.”
“Rahim” added that five men, who are suspected of being “guardians of the premises” where the sexual services were offered, were arrested to help in the investigation.
The unknown author of the false article also claims that customers were charged between RM300 and RM450 for 45-minute sessions with the women; and that the syndicate is also suspected of involvement in drug trafficking.