Rape is one of the most terrible crimes on earth. The problem with groups who deal with rape is that they try to educate women about how to defend themselves. What really needs to be done is teaching men not to rape. Go to the source and start there.
– Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter
The alleged rape of a teenage girl by a male detainee while being held at the Miri police station lockup early last month has sent shockwaves throughout the country.
The widely publicised incident is a wake-up call to all the authorities, especially the law enforcing agencies.
While we welcome the suspension of the two cops on duty at the time of the incident and the assurance by state police chief Datuk Aidi Ismail that an in-depth probe would be carried out, a more concrete action is needed to prevent a similar crime from happening again.
I just can’t fathom how such a heinous crime could have occurred in a place that is supposedly the safest place one can think of — a police station! What’s happening to this country? Is the system going to the dogs?
Heads must roll over the incident. All those involved must not be spared. Those on duty that day, if and when found guilty of negligence, should be kicked out of the force.
As for the detainee who raped the 16-year-old victim, he should be given the maximum penalty. Let him rot in jail. My only hope is that no decent lawyer will defend him.
While the nation is reeling from this transgression, another disgusting sex-related case cropped up.
A 23-year-old woman took to social media on Saturday alleging she was stopped at a roadblock in the federal capital and sexually harassed by some on-duty cops.
Guess what! She claimed that a cop asked her to bare her breasts and allegedly threatened to issue a summons if she did not comply.
“I wasn’t wearing a bra, and then somehow the police notice it??? And he questions why I didn’t wear a bra. And at that time, I forgot to bring my licence … Police should protect people and not do this. Already got sexually harassed, yet I was blackmailed into giving my number as well, or else he would have fined me,” the victim alleged in her tweets.
According to media reports, Kuala Lumpur police have begun investigating the woman’s claims which have gone viral on social media.
These latest incidents involving police rank and file personnel are not doing any good to the overall image of the police force, especially at the national level. Nevertheless, we should appreciate the quick action by the top brass to carry out their investigations.
Let’s leave the cops alone to do their investigations and move on to more pressing issues like rapes, incest and molests faced by society. Existing penalties, including whipping and prison sentences, are not deterring offenders or reducing the number of sexual offences.
Look at these national police statistics on sexual crimes taken every two years for the period between 2000 and 2020. A total of 45,174 rapes were reported, 32,685 molests, 5,762 incest cases and 2,872 sexual harassments.
This means an average of about 2,000 rape cases are reported in our country yearly which also means that a woman, regardless of age and race fall into the hands of rapists every few minutes. Can sex crimes be reduced in our country? With existing laws and punishments, I will say, a big no!
I was jokingly telling friends that the only sure way to stop sexual predators is perhaps to introduce castration as a form of deterrent. Sounds harsh, but how else are we going to keep our mothers, sisters, wives and grandmas safe from sexually depraved creatures?
Yes, even grannies are not safe these days. There have been reports of grandmas in their sixties being raped.
I am talking about chemical castration, lah. Not literally lopping off the offender’s manhood. Indonesia and Ukraine have passed laws to chemically castrate rapists forcibly.
Indonesia passed the tough law in 2016 following a number of high-profile cases of child sexual abuse. According to reports, the first man sentenced to chemical castration in 2019 said he would prefer an increase in prison time or even the death penalty.
Perhaps Malaysia should reconsider setting up a national sex offender registry which was initially proposed in 2017 but it never took off.
The registry should be accessible online to the public, searchable by name, year or area code, and include all types of sex crime offenders. The idea is to shame these people.
The registry should cover convicted sex offenders who committed offences in the country or aboard — and non-Malaysians convicted of sex crimes in the country or abroad and residing in the country.
A national registry would raise awareness of the presence of sex offenders in our society.
Why protect the privacy of these criminals? Castration or being shamed as a sex offender pales in comparison to the monstrous act of violating women who have to go through the pain of living with horrible recollections of the incident.
Policymakers, what are you waiting for?
