Malaysian B1A4 Fans Reportedly Will Not Face Arrest For Fan Meeting Behavior

Several fans of a popular Korean idol group will not be facing arrest, announced the Federal Territories Islamic Department of Malaysia.

The Federal Territories Islamic Department of Malaysia, known as JAWI, is unable to pursue several female fans of Korean boy band B1A4 after the fans were seen embracing the singers. JAWI had initially announced that it was considering enforcing a financial penalty or prison time on the girls due to alleged public indecency.

Paimuzi Yahya, the director of JAWI, explained that since the female fans did not turn themselves into the religious authority within a week JAWI is no longer able to take action.

"There is nothing we (JAWI) can do. Nothing," Yahya told the Malay Mail Online. "If they turn up, we can give them advice. But if they don't, and for now, they have not turned up, we cannot do anything."

The situation made international headlines after a video from a B1A4 fan meet on January 10 was posted online.

The video showed several fans of the idol group interacting with the five members of B1A4, reenacting scenes from popular Korean television dramas. The women, all of whom wore Islamic hair coverings, and B1A4 embraced for the sake of the situation. This led to outrage in Malaysia from religious institutions, a country that enforces Islamic rule on Muslim citizens. JAWI and others called for repercussions to both the women in the video and B1A4; the women did not turn themselves into the authorities.

Both B1A4's agency and the event organizers issued apologies, but the latter refused to release confidential personal information about the fans that appeared in the video.

B1A4's agency, WM Entertainment, said that it will take cultural differences into account for future activities abroad. "We will be more considerate and more cautious of the local culture, so we can all be able to enjoy it together." 

Tags
B1A4
b1a4 malaysia
malay fans
kpop
b1a4 fanmeet
Join the Discussion

Latest Photo Gallery

Real Time Analytics