The man, a 31-year-old Bangladesh national, was spotted by a British couple who were on holiday with their young child in Malaysia and staying at the same hotel in Bandar Hilir, Star Online reported yesterday.

The Brit, who is an academician, made a police report at the Malacca Tengah district police headquarters last Saturday without alerting the worker and this enabled the police to make an arrest on the same day.

He had claimed that a video clip the suspect had been watching featured a baby boy being sexually assaulted by an elderly man.

A state government official confirmed the arrest and said action would be taken to cancel the suspect’s working permit after the police have completed their investigation.

“I was told this was not the first time the Bangladeshi watched child pornography. His fetish could pose a risk to children staying at the hotel,” state Private Sector Affairs, Human Resources and NGO Affairs committee chairman MS Mahadevan was quoted as saying by the news portal.

He said the relevant authorities have also received complaints against foreign workers, allegedly behaving indecently towards women.

“There have been a slew of complaints, and we need to call all employers for a roundtable talk. They have to train their foreign workers on our culture,” Mahadevan told Star Online.

He feared these incidents could tar Malaysia’s reputation among foreigners and affect the local tourism industry.