Penang: Jaring account holders who persistently send obscene pictures through their e-mail accounts can have their accounts suspended., Jaring Abuse Team's customers service assisstant Abdul Razak Hassan said yesterday. Although the culprits would be let off with a stern warning initially, their accounts would be suspended if they persisted, he added. 'These includes those circulating e-mails purportedly showing pictures of topless women in supermarket's fitting room". he said this was the first complaint that Jaring had received pertaining to obscene pictures. Other complaints mostly involved hacking, illegal advertising, stolen e-mail accounts and computer viruses.

He said the team could trace the culprit's e-mail account based on the Internet Protocol (IP) address which was enclosed in each e-mail. Abdul Razak was responding to a report in The Star that said a police report was lodged on Wednesday by Suiwah Corporation Bhd promotions and advertising manager Yee Kam Ming on the matter. Yee had threatened to take legal action against those responsible for putting up the e-mail which contained nine pictures of topless and bra-clad women.

Declaring the e-mail and photographs as fakes, he had said that the women were models "who were posong for the camera and not facing the mirror in the fitting room". The e-mail being circulated among Internet users carried a warning: Be careful Ladies!!! When you went (sic) shopping and try on, pls check around .... otherwise..."

However, at a press time, Abdul Razak said he had yet to receive the complaint from the supermarket or investigating police officer. "If the culprit's e-mail account does not belong to Jaring, it is up to the service provider involved to act on the matter," he added. Yee had also said the management had checked all fitting rooms in Sunshine Square Supermarket in Bayan Baru and had found no such gadgets.

He had also said the company would give the police and MIMOS Abuse Centre detailed information on the sources of the false e -mail to help with their investigations.