KOTA BHARU, July 26 -- Kelantan police were lambasted last week after accusing an HIV health outreach programme here in June as a "gay sex party", with the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) and other civil societies forced to correct the misinformation.

Despite that, three men arrested by the police during the event had already been charged in court with possessing "obscene" images and videos on their phones - and were subsequently fined after pleading guilty.

In a statement last week, the MAC explained that the event was part of a long-term health outreach initiative organised by the local NGO Kelantan Patient Intermediary Association (Sahabat) under the Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF) to promote HIV interventions among hard-to-reach popula...