A Russian couple has been detained by police in Malaysia for putting on an apparent street performance in which their 4-month-old baby was swung around by her ankles and tossed in the air.
The man, 28, and his 27-year-old wife, who have been dubbed “begpackers,” were busted by cops Monday while they were in the middle-of-the-street act in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
“We detained them on Monday for questioning over the alleged abuse of their four-month-old baby girl,” Kuala Lumpur police chief Mazlan Lazim told the AFP.
The identities of the individuals were not immediately released.
A 90-second video showing the “irresponsible act” surfaced on Facebook over the weekend and quickly went viral with more than 20,000 views.
The clip, posted by Facebook user Zayl Chia Abdulla, shows a man wearing blue shorts swinging a diaper-clad baby from the ankles and through his legs to the tune of music as spectators gather around.
The man in the video can also be seen throwing the baby up and down in the air and raising the child up by her legs as some onlookers film the stunt on their cellphones.
A woman believed to be the man’s wife is seen in the footage sitting on the floor with a sign that reads: “We are travelling around the world…”
Overheard in the video is a bystander who says, “It’s stupid. You cannot do this.”
“I happen to pass by this area in Bukit Bintang and I saw this irresponsible act that can literally cause injury to that poor baby,” Abdulla captioned the video. “Why is the authority allowing such act to be showcase to public. These street performer needs to be arrested! Please do something.”
According to the South China Morning Post, “begpackers” — or travelers who fund their journey by begging, selling goods or putting on street performances — have become an “increasingly common sight” across Southeast Asia in recent years.
With Post wires