KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Wanita MCA wants stricter rules and stiffer punishment for those caught invading the privacy of others.

Its chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said she knew of a case where the culprit who recorded his neighbour taking a shower paid only a RM100 ($41.72) fine under the Small Offences Act.

She said she was concern as Malaysia did not have any rule to punish culprits.

"We don't have proper and strict laws to punish those caught recording someone without their consent," she said at a press conference at the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department on Tuesday.

Department head Datuk Michael Chong said there had been 18 cases of invasion of privacy since 2005.

"The most common place for the recording to take place is at the toilet and changing rooms in shopping malls and hotels," said Chong.

"I like to send the message to the hotel and mall owners because they can be sued if there are any spy cameras found in their premises. It is advisable for them to always check for such gadgets," he said.

"I advised women to get detectors that can locate spy gadgets," he added.

The spy detector ranges from RM50 to RM1,000 depending on the quality and ability to detect various types of spy gadgets. -The Star/ANN