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The path to justice is not paved with gold — and unfortunately for minors, this path to justice even less so.
According to Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) have recorded an increase in sexual crime cases involving underage children within the state in the last four months.
Speaking to the press at the launch of the Seri Kembangan police station hall on Monday (May 15), he said the police investigated 155 cases in the last four months.
According to The Star, Hussein added that the cases that have since been reported included statutory rape with at least 33 suspects being students themselves.
He also noted that the numbers have been concerning despite PDRM not having exact numbers compared to last year.
He was also reported saying:
We have found for cases where both ‘suka sama suka’ (both sides like each other), it is possible that suspects did not know that statutory rape is a big offence. So the poor understanding of the country’s laws can contribute to cases such as these.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan
According to him, the youngest victims reported were around 12 to 13 years old where reports were lodged by the victims’ parents, guardians or teachers when they found out.
Hussein also urged parents and guardians to be more mindful of their children’s activities especially when it involves online spaces.
Two weeks ago, Utusan Malaysia reported that one in three children in Malaysia under 18 years old become victims of online sexual predators.
According to statistics from Bukit Aman, the daily reported a total of 1,464 cases of online sexual harassment cases involving minors compared to 1,272 cases in 2021.
Principal assistant director of Bukit Aman’s Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division Assistant Commissioner Siti Kamsiah Hassan also told the Malay daily that the increase in child sexual crimes in the last five years is due to social media exposure.
She was quoted saying:
Social media platforms are used as an introductory medium prior to committing sexual offences or the medium is used directly to commit the offence of disseminating child sexual abuse materials or sextortion offences.
Principal assistant director of Bukit Aman’s Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division Assistant Commissioner Siti Kamsiah Hassan
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