#trending: Man arrested in Malaysia for placing vape device in baby’s mouth in viral video

JOHOR BAHRU, MALAYSIA — A man in Malaysia has been arrested for placing an electronic cigarette in an infant’s mouth. The incident was captured on video and posted on social media, where it has gone viral and attracted more than 7,000 responses on Twitter.

The 23-year-old unidentified suspect was arrested after he was summoned for questioning on Monday (Aug 8), a police official said.

The man was placed in remand for five days by the Johor Bahru Magistrate Court beginning Tuesday.

A police report was filed by the baby’s mother last Saturday after the video began circulating online.

In the 17-second clip, the suspect can be seen sitting the seven-month-old baby on his lap and placing the vape pen in her mouth a few times for several seconds. A female voice can be heard laughing in the background.

Bernama news agency reported that the man is a friend of the baby’s aunt and the incident took place while the man, the baby’s mother and her younger sister were at a restaurant in the town of Bandar Baru Uda.

Assistant Police Commissioner of North Johor Bahru district Rupiah Abd Wahid was reported to have said: “The man who was carrying the baby jokingly placed the non-functioning e-cigarette into the baby’s mouth. This was recorded by the mother’s sister who posted it on social media and it went viral.” 

A recording of the original video that was reposted by Twitter user "fanaizty" has been viewed more than 945,000 times and retweeted more than 3,645 times.

The video sparked outrage on social media, with many people slamming the adults involved for exposing an innocent child to harm.

Many Twitter users who mistook the man in the video to be the baby’s father claimed that he did not deserve to be a parent with comments such as: 

• “There really should be an aptitude test to see if people are fit to be parents…”
• “There are residual liquids on the vape opening and you put it in your child’s mouth? Some people really don’t deserve kids.”
• “We have a child. The first thing my husband changed was to stop smoking.”

Others did not see the humour in the man’s actions and equated it to child abuse:

• “In what universe does the adult find this funny & laugh???”
• “I don't get it. This is not even funny. I can't wait for the parents to be in jail.”

Following the backlash, the man wrote on Instagram that he had gone to the police station to “correct many incorrect statements” regarding the incident. He admitted to putting the e-cigarette in the infant’s mouth but claimed that it does not function anymore and the baby often plays with it. 

The World Health Organization has declared that e-cigarettes or “vapes” are harmful to health and are not safer alternatives to regular cigarettes. 

Studies have shown that vaping is associated with increased risk of developing heart and lung diseases in the short term and can affect brain development as well as lower impulse control in youth.

An investigation under Section 31(1) (a) of Malaysia’s 2001 Children’s Act is now underway.

If charged and found guilty of exposing a child to danger, the suspect can be jailed for a maximum of 20 years or fined RM50,000 (S$15,460), or both.