Authorities in Malaysia arrested more than 12 men in the state of Kelantan last month during a night raid on a “gay party,” a police official said today.

Homosexuality is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia and human rights groups have warned of growing intolerance towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and bi-sexual people.

Kelantan state police chief Mohid Yusuf Mamat said police arrested 20 people after receiving a tip-off from a citizen who attended a rented house in the state capital Kota Baru in June.

“During interrogation, they confessed to belonging to a homosexual group,” he said during a press conference.

Mohd Yusov said that although authorities found no evidence that sexual activities took place during the gathering, police discovered condoms and HIV drugs at the venue.

Police have filed charges against three of the men for possessing homosexual pornography on their cell phones, Yusov said.

But authorities were unable to prosecute the other men as there were no specific laws or other incriminating evidence against them, he explained.

“We are concerned about this kind of behavior…We will continue to monitor the movements of homosexual groups,” he concluded. The LGBTQ+ community faces increasing persecution in Malaysia, where sodomy is a crime and current Islamic sharia law prohibits same-sex sexual relations and molestation.

The multi-ethnic, multi-religious country has a dual-approach legal system with Islamic laws that apply to the Muslim population alongside non-religious laws.

Authorities interrupted a concert in 2023 when the leader of British pop group “The 1975” kissed a man, also a member of the band, on stage and criticised anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the country.

In 2018, two women were punished in a courtroom while dozens of people watched after they were convicted for attempting to indulge in lesbian sex.

Human rights organisations Justice for Sisters and Amnesty International said that between 2020 and May this year nearly half of the banned publications involved content from the LGBTQ+ community.