Police say they are unable to investigate a Russian couple behind a street act of flinging a six-month-old baby in an acrobatic fashion, despite condemnation and shock from Malaysians who have called for authorities to take action.
Updated: Following reports made by the public, the Russian couple aged 28 and 27 years old, was arrested during their street performance along Jalan Raja Abdullah today. The couple, who entered the country on Feb 1 via Thailand, would be remanded tomorrow.
City police chief Mazlan Lazim said police were also unsure if a video of the act was genuine, and urged witnesses to come forward to cooperate.
“At the moment, no one has lodged a report. We are not sure if the video is real or not,” he told FMT.
“Sometimes, it could be a video from another country.”
Mazlan added that it was the job of the Welfare Department to investigate the matter.
Checks by FMT showed that video clips shared on social media, showing a man flinging his baby about in a street acrobatic show, were real.
His wife was seen cheering from the sidelines as onlookers watched in horror.
When contacted, the man who only wanted to be known as Mikhail defended his baby-throwing act, saying they were acrobatic moves that served as “exercise” for their son.
Mikhail and his wife, both here on a month-long tourist visa, even claimed that their child enjoyed the “exercise”.
“Our son loves this exercise. He asks for it whenever he wakes up,” he told FMT, adding that people would gather whenever they do the “work out” with their son.
Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Kuala Lumpur also criticised the couple.
“We feel it is not right to draw attention or behave in this manner, to swing the baby,” an embassy spokesman told FMT.
“We are contacting the family to get more information,” he said. – FMT