Children’s welfare ignored by keeping rapists out of jail, says child specialist

By Debra Chong

August 29, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — A senior government paediatrician lashed out today at the courts for neglecting the rights of children in choosing to keep convicted child rapists out of jail, in the wake of public uproar over two recent cases where the perpetrators were let off with only a RM25,000 bond for good behaviour.

Datuk Dr Amar Singh, who is head paediatrician at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, said the recent sentences were sending out a “clear message to other perpetrators that the courts take a soft view of the abuse of children when the adult perpetrator involved is a young adult”.

“The last two rulings by the court seem to focus more on the perpetrator rather than the victim’s situation.
“This will embolden more to act without restraint,” he told The Malaysian Insider in an emailed statement today.

The doctor was weighing in on the cases of national bowler Noor Afizal Azizan, 21, and Chuah Guan Jiu, 22 — two young men who were found guilty of raping 13- and 12-year-old girls respectively but who both escaped jail terms on the grounds that the sexual act was “consensual”; that the perpetrators were young; and that it was their first offence.

Dr Amar said the rulings playing down the seriousness of statutory rape made a “mockery” of the word “consensual”, pointing out the large age gap between the perpetrators and their victims, and adding that the girls were too young to understand or control the situation.

The rulings also ignore the emotional and psychological trauma on the barely pubescent girls, said the medical expert who has worked for years with survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

“The law to protect young children from sexual abuse and rape is there for a purpose, and written with reason,” Dr Amar said.

Mental health professionals whom The Malaysian Insider spoke to earlier today said both Noor Afizal and Chuah matched the international medical definition of paedophiles

They also highlighted international research of paedophilia as a sexual disorder suggests that paedophiles start offending at a young age.

And according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) used by mental health professionals globally, paedophilia is the sexual attraction to pubescent or pre-pubescents aged 13 or younger, and the subject must be 16 or older with the child at least five years younger.

The two non-custodial decisions were also criticised by the Women’s Centre for Change Penang (WCC) who rapped the judges for failing to take into account the sexual exploitation of young victims.

“It is important that the dispensation of justice in every case of statutory rape reflects various considerations, including the impact on the victim,” said Prema Devaraj, who is WCC programme director in an emailed statement to The Malaysian Insider.

Chua, an electrician, was today reported to have escaped jail despite being found guilty of raping his 12-year-old girlfriend last year and released on a three-year, RM25,000 good behaviour bond by the Sessions Court in George Town, Penang.

“We also considered the fact that the sexual act was consensual and that he is a school dropout,” judge Sitarun Nisa Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying by The Star today.

Noor Afizal, whose jail sentence was reversed by the Court of Appeal earlier this month, had triggered an emotional public outcry over the decision as the court’s ruling appears to have set a precedent which suggests sexual predators who might repeat their crime will not be taken seriously.