A newlywed couple from China honeymooning in Malaysia say that their experience was disrupted after they allegedly discovered a hidden camera in their Airbnb homestay.
The couple claimed the camera was hidden and pointed towards their bed.
Writing on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu under the name “Zhenmei Beauty,” the couple said the alleged camera was installed inside a wall power socket at the house in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Zhenmei Beauty alleged that after a routine sweep of the place at 3am, her husband found the device secretly installed between two USB ports.
After the discovery, she tried to contact the host but claims there was no response.
The detection of the apparent device prompted a police investigation, according to news outlet South China Morning Post, and has led to travel warnings as well as tips from experts on how to avoid being spied on while on holiday.
The couple said police asked them to remove their social media posts, but these claims have been denied by police chief assistant commissioner Mohd Zaidi Abdullah.
He said investigations at the rental property had led to the removal of “several items”, adding that officers were “working on identifying the suspect”.
Zhenmei Beauty also said in the post that the Airbnb host initially accused them of tarnishing his name but eventually gave them a refund.
The post claims that although the listing was removed from the Airbnb site, the host is still involved in other apartment listings.
Zhenmei Beauty posted on social media claiming that there was hidden cameras in their Airbnb homestay— (Zhenmei BEAUTY/ Social media )
Malaysia’s tourism, arts and culture minister, Tiong King Sing, wrote in a Facebook post that stern action will be taken against the perpetrators.
“Stern and appropriate punishment should be imposed on any party found guilty because this kind of reprehensible act not only violates the laws, but also affects the image of the country’s tourism industry,” said Mr Tiong.
He said that action will also be taken against those operating the property registered under Airbnb.
“There is no denying that things such as this may happen due to the personal actions of irresponsible homestay or Airbnb workers. (The ministry) will not compromise on such an incident and will continue to monitor from time to time,” he added.
According to the New Strait Times, Airbnb’s general manager for India, South-east Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Amanpreet Bajaj said: “We ban hidden cameras and were disappointed to hear of this reported incident. Our dedicated safety team has also removed the Host’s account and listings pending an investigation.
“While safety incidents are rare on Airbnb, we take reports such as these seriously, and we have been providing support to our guest.”
The Independent has contacted Airbnb Asia for a comment.
