2007 05: Schoolboy held over molest of six-year-old

The Star online. News. Nation. Tuesday May 22, 2007

PENANG: A schoolboy, 14, was arrested for allegedly molesting a six-year-old girl, whom his mother was babysitting, at a house in Sungai Dua here.

The Form Two schoolboy allegedly molested the kindergartener on several occasions when alone at home with her.

The victim’s parents found out when their daughter complained of pain in her private parts.

A report was lodged by the victim’s mother at the Sungai Nibong police station on Sunday. The girl was later sent to the Penang Hospital for a check-up.

The boy was then picked up from his house a few hours later. He was released to his parents on police bail after a statement was taken.

A source from the Sungai Nibong police station confirmed that a schoolboy had been arrested.

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Put a stop to crimes against kids
The Star online. News. Opinion. Wednesday May 23, 2007

I REFER to “Schoolboy held over molest of six-year-old” (The Star, May 22). My heart goes out to the six-year-old who has gone through the trauma of being violated by a child of someone whom her parents trust.

I also ask myself this question, why would a 14-year-old be capable of commiting such an atrocity against a child who is younger, weaker and more helpless than himself?

I am sure that he is neither the first nor will he be the last teenager below the age of 18 to commit such a horrific act against a child.

In addition, I believe that he is not just a danger to the six-year-old victim but also a danger to other children within his surroundings and society.

A person like him should be locked away for a long time followed by rehabilitation and intensive psychological and psychiatric therapy. What he did against a child was not only unacceptable but considered abnormal and dangerous.

It is time we stop pointing fingers at each other for creating monsters like him. Isn’t it about time that we worked together as a community to combat the growing number of sexual crimes against children in Malaysia by such criminals like this 14-year-old offender and other adult paedophiles?

We need to understand the fact that minor sex offenders and paedophiles are not the stereotypical indecent person in a trenchcoat like many people would think. These kinds of sex offenders usually come from all walks of life regardless of their socio-economic status and family background.

S. YIN,
Auckland, New Zealand.