Fake picture, fake accompanying story.
Police say a picture showing a couple engaged in sex beside a highway supposedly taken on a Penang highway is fake.
South Seberang Prai OCPD Supt Shafee Abdul Samad, who was shown the picture in a text message on Sunday, said the picture was not taken in Penang, The Star reported.
The picture was widely reposted after appearing in a report in www.penangpost.com without verification. It shows a nude girl close to a metal sign riveted to a chain-link fence.
“No such thing. We don’t have a green fence,” Shafee said, referring to the green fence running along the middle of the highway shown in the picture which is not a feature of Malaysian highways.
Digital enhancement of the picture showed that the sign contained red Chinese writing, most likely warning pedestrians not to step onto the highway but the photo resolution is too low to read the Chinese characters.
The report alleged that the incident occurred in Changkat Kledang in Jawi, Penang, which is a flat coastal area while the picture shows an elevated highway across a gorge.
The article claimed that a motorist who snapped the picture was so outraged that he later trailed the couple to a property in Jelutong.
“Our journalist visited the property to interview the couple. At first, they denied any knowledge of the incident, but when shown the incriminating photo, they admitted their guilt and apologised,” the article said.
No information on who owns the portal is provided on the website.