Over the last weekend, many local anime enthusiasts made a point to visit Paradigm Shopping Centre for the much anticipated AnimeFest event that was held there. In fact the expo was so warmly received by fans and content creators alike, the influx of event-goers eventually led to massive congestions around the surrounding area, as well as overcrowding in the mall premises itself.
Cosplayer finds herself stalked at anime convention
And while many have no doubt enjoyed the celebration of Japanese television, comics, and video games at the event, local cosplayer Chin Pui Ting aka Pudds, took to her social media pages to share the harrowing moment when she had fallen victim to a stalking incident while manning her booth at AnimeFest. The incident, which had taken place on 16th May 2022, saw Chin being approached by a man who had cut ahead of a queue in order to meet her in person.
According to Chin, the man had recognised her from Discord, a messaging platform typically frequented by gamers.
“He pushed towards my booth whilst screaming and crying asking me for a picture and to unblock him from discord.” she explained.
Despite having not knowing him personally or having had any relationship with him, Chin’s stalker had threatened her with suicide and even followed after her as she was heading to her car in the parking basement. Understandably afraid, this led her to lodge a police report, which she shared on her Twitter page.
According to the report, she explained that the man had been stalking her for over four months through Instagram, and had apparently been drawing a series of cartoons that feature her and himself in romantic relationship. Despite that, her ordeal didn’t end there.
Police officer blames her for being stalked
While at the police station, Chin revealed that the police officer who had been handling her case had victim-blamed her attire and cosplay hobby for the stalking incident.
“This is the consequences you face for dressing up like this and selling these kinds of pictures. This is also your own fault.” he said.
https://twitter.com/deadpudds/status/1526414101815037953?cxt=HHwWgsCo7bni9K4qAAAA
What’s more, he even berated her for being a cosplayer, and told her to ‘go back to school’.
“Are you modelling with an agency? If you’re not, then stop doing this.”
https://twitter.com/deadpudds/status/1526415098612285441?cxt=HHwWgoCgybyc9a4qAAAA
Exasperated by his remarks, all Chin could do was nod and agree with him for the sake of getting the report done.
Her Tweet, which has since gone viral over local social media, eventually caught the attention of local law enforcement. According to Malaysiakini, Petaling Jaya district police chief Mohamad Fakhruddin Abdul Hamid said that the police officer in question will now be probed under a disciplinary infraction over his remarks.
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