Posted on VR Zone forum by 'bigsale' here
:
M'SIA GETS TOUGH ON SEX CRIMES
After body in gym bag, it's ZERO tolerance now
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,142792,00.html?
(edited image above courtesy of leaving
footsteps)
SIX reported rapes a day (and that's only the REPORTED cases; for
every 1 case reported, there are up to 10 cases unreported), that's
the alarming state of the sex-crime situation in Malaysia.
And so the authorities are now gunning for zero tolerance towards
sex crime offenders.
From January to July this year, there were 1,814 reported rape
cases, compared with 1,362 during the same period last year - a
33per cent jump, reported The New Straits Times.
Most victims were students, said Federal CID director Datuk
Christopher Wan Soo Kee.
These figures compare to 70 reported rape cases in Singapore from
January to June this year (up from 53 during the same period last
year).
The intense concern in Malaysia about sex crimes against children
comes in the wake of the sexual abuse and murder of 7-year-old
Nurin Jazlin Jazimin.
Her body was found in a gym bag outside a Petaling Jaya bookshop on
Monday.
Now, both the courts and the government have made strong statements
on getting tougher on crime.
TOUGHER ON CRIMINALS
On Friday, a Sessions Court judge in Shah Alam sent a clear message
- that there would be zero tolerance for crimes against
children.
Judge Datin Zabariah Mohd Yusof sentenced Mohd Noor Annuar Othman,
28 - found guilty of abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl - to
19years in jail and fivestrokes of thecane.
Said Judge Zabariah: 'We read about how children are abducted and
sexually assaulted. This is becoming rampant.
'The court has to send a strong message... by meting out a
deterrentsentence.'
A similarly stern message was sent on Thursday, when the High Court
increased the jail term for a 36-year-old security guard convicted
of raping a girl of under 16 years, from an initial six years' jail
to 18 years and 12 strokes of the cane, reported NST.
There are also plans by the Women, Family and Community Development
Ministry to have convicted sexual abusers of children wear a chip
and special bracelet after their release, for police to track their
movements, reported The New Straits Times.
Meanwhile, a Sabah women's group is repeating its call for the
death penalty against such offenders, reported The Star.
The chairman of the Sabah Women's Advisory Council, Datin Asnimar
Sukardi, said that the 30-year jail term for rape was 'insufficient
as a deterrent'.
'Let us... provide for harsher penalties if we want to prevent such
heinous crimes,' she said.
The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry also vowed to
get tougher on parents who neglect their children, reported The New
Straits Times.
Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil said that in the past, her
ministry had been reluctant to use the law against errant
parents.
But, she told reporters on Friday: 'From now on, if we find out
there is a family that wilfully neglects the children, we will
bring them tocourt.'
COMMUNITY HELP
Child and family psychiatrist DrKasmini Kassim of Damansara
Specialist Hospital in Petaling Jaya also suggested that
neighbourhood shops be roped in to protect children, reported
NST.
'There must be a system in place where children in danger will know
that they can go to the nearest kedai runcit (provision shop) to
seek help,' she said.
A new police division has been set up to handle sexual abuse cases,
reported the Malaysian papers.
And it will soon have 101 civilian counsellors stationed
nationwide.
The new unit, called the Sexual, Abuse and Child Investigation
Division, comes under the Crime Investigation Department
(CID).
The government also announced that the 999 number, usually used to
call the police or emergency reponse teams, can now be used to
report cases of sexual abuse
Source: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,142792,00.html?
