The Star online. News. Courts. Wednesday June 6, 2007
IPOH: A welder was sentenced to 15 years’ jail for raping his stepdaughter, who later gave birth to a boy.
Sessions Court judge Hashim Hamzah also ordered the 29-year-old to be whipped three times after he admitted raping the girl at their house in Taman Sri Dermawan here about 10.30am in December 2005.
The girl was 18 then.
In pressing for a deterrent sentence, DPP Ahmad Ishrakh Saad said the victim would be traumatised for the rest of her life.
“Her future is destroyed. The victim was in Form Six at the time of the incident and was about to sit for her STPM when she went into labour.
“What is more serious is that the innocent life that was brought into this world without a father will face a bleak future,” he said.
The welder, who had initially claimed trial to the offence, will serve his sentence from the date of his arrest on July 27 last year.
Monday, 11 June 2007
2007 06: Teacher admits molesting girl
The Star online. News. Courts. Tuesday June 5, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR: A Jawi teacher pleaded guilty in a magistrate’s court here to molesting a nine-year-old pupil in a religious school classroom last year.
Husin Rohimi, 36, from Kodiang, Kedah, was expressionless when recording his plea yesterday.
He was said to have molested the girl by hugging her once from the back, kissing her right cheek once and rubbing her private parts.
Husin was accused of committing the offence in a Year Two classroom of SR Agama Al-Jamiyah in Setapak at 10.30am on Nov 10.
He faces up to 10 years’ jail or a fine or whipping, or both.
The prosecution asked that bail be set at RM6,000 in one surety and also for an order against the teacher from going anywhere near the victim or her family.
Pleading for a lower bail later, Husin said he was only earning RM979 per month and had to support three children.
Magistrate Azniza Mohd Ali granted him RM4,000 bail in one surety and set July 23 for sentencing.
He failed to post bail.
KUALA LUMPUR: A Jawi teacher pleaded guilty in a magistrate’s court here to molesting a nine-year-old pupil in a religious school classroom last year.
Husin Rohimi, 36, from Kodiang, Kedah, was expressionless when recording his plea yesterday.
He was said to have molested the girl by hugging her once from the back, kissing her right cheek once and rubbing her private parts.
Husin was accused of committing the offence in a Year Two classroom of SR Agama Al-Jamiyah in Setapak at 10.30am on Nov 10.
He faces up to 10 years’ jail or a fine or whipping, or both.
The prosecution asked that bail be set at RM6,000 in one surety and also for an order against the teacher from going anywhere near the victim or her family.
Pleading for a lower bail later, Husin said he was only earning RM979 per month and had to support three children.
Magistrate Azniza Mohd Ali granted him RM4,000 bail in one surety and set July 23 for sentencing.
He failed to post bail.
2007 06: Daughter tells of family shame
The Star online. News. Nation. Tuesday June 5, 2007
A MOTHER not only allowed her four daughters to be raped by their father and three brothers but also used a bomoh to cast a spell to get them to willingly become prostitutes, reported Harian Metro.
The tabloid said the four teenagers were forced to prostitute themselves to relatives and foreigners in Johor Baru.
They were also beaten, abused, and had spells cast on them if they refused to submit to their father and brothers.
One of the victims, known only as Wani, 19, said she started being raped seven years ago after completing her primary education in Ulu Tiram, Johor.
“While other teenagers were busy thinking about schooling, we were ordered by our mother to sleep with our father and three brothers,” she said.
She added that after her father and brothers were “satisfied” with them, she and her sisters would be forced to sleep with close relatives.
The teenage victim claimed that the mother had threatened to poison them if they resisted.
She said she was “cured” of her mother's spell after she visited a bomoh.
“Although I am now married and live elsewhere, I still get threats from my family,” she said, adding that in the middle of last year, her father and brothers broke into her house and photographed her while she was bathing.
They threatened to put the pictures on the Internet if she did not return home.
She said she had lodged eight police reports to protect herself.
A MOTHER not only allowed her four daughters to be raped by their father and three brothers but also used a bomoh to cast a spell to get them to willingly become prostitutes, reported Harian Metro.
The tabloid said the four teenagers were forced to prostitute themselves to relatives and foreigners in Johor Baru.
They were also beaten, abused, and had spells cast on them if they refused to submit to their father and brothers.
One of the victims, known only as Wani, 19, said she started being raped seven years ago after completing her primary education in Ulu Tiram, Johor.
“While other teenagers were busy thinking about schooling, we were ordered by our mother to sleep with our father and three brothers,” she said.
She added that after her father and brothers were “satisfied” with them, she and her sisters would be forced to sleep with close relatives.
The teenage victim claimed that the mother had threatened to poison them if they resisted.
She said she was “cured” of her mother's spell after she visited a bomoh.
“Although I am now married and live elsewhere, I still get threats from my family,” she said, adding that in the middle of last year, her father and brothers broke into her house and photographed her while she was bathing.
They threatened to put the pictures on the Internet if she did not return home.
She said she had lodged eight police reports to protect herself.
2007 06: Panel to handle discipline
The Star online. News. Nation. Tuesday June 5, 2007
IPOH: Any punishment to be meted out to students will have to go through a special committee in each school.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Noh Omar said the committee, to be set up in each school, would consist of teachers and PTA members.
“We hope to set up the committee by this year as the ministry is fine-tuning the ordinance pertaining to disciplining students,” he said.
At present, only school principals have the power to mete out punishment to students.
Speaking to reporters after opening a course for district education officers here yesterday, Noh said the committee was needed as sometimes students dared not speak in front of teachers.
“With the committee, it will ensure fairness when meting out punishment,” he added.
On reports of teachers being too harsh when disciplining students, Noh attributed this to teachers being unaware of regulations and procedures on the matter.
“If teachers were to mete out punishment appropriate to the type of wrongs committed by students, the problem of indiscipline can be better managed,” he added.
“We want to educate students and there are many ways of doing it.”
Noh also said that PTA meetings must include discipline in school on the agenda.
“We do not want the meetings to just discuss academic matters.
“They should also discuss how to solve disciplinary problems as everyone has to be involved in combating indiscipline in school,” he added.
IPOH: Any punishment to be meted out to students will have to go through a special committee in each school.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Noh Omar said the committee, to be set up in each school, would consist of teachers and PTA members.
“We hope to set up the committee by this year as the ministry is fine-tuning the ordinance pertaining to disciplining students,” he said.
At present, only school principals have the power to mete out punishment to students.
Speaking to reporters after opening a course for district education officers here yesterday, Noh said the committee was needed as sometimes students dared not speak in front of teachers.
“With the committee, it will ensure fairness when meting out punishment,” he added.
On reports of teachers being too harsh when disciplining students, Noh attributed this to teachers being unaware of regulations and procedures on the matter.
“If teachers were to mete out punishment appropriate to the type of wrongs committed by students, the problem of indiscipline can be better managed,” he added.
“We want to educate students and there are many ways of doing it.”
Noh also said that PTA meetings must include discipline in school on the agenda.
“We do not want the meetings to just discuss academic matters.
“They should also discuss how to solve disciplinary problems as everyone has to be involved in combating indiscipline in school,” he added.
2007 06: Whipping? Paedophile changes plea
The Star online. News. Nation. Tuesday June 5, 2007
By CECIL FUNG
KUALA LUMPUR: A security guard who first admitted to forcing a 13-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him changed his plea when he found out the sentence was 20 years and whipping.
T. Prabayar, 33, initially pleaded guilty when he was charged at a Sessions Court here with committing the offence inside the toilet of a showhouse in Bandar Baru Sentul on May 20 around 4pm.
The security guard, when told about the sentence, hesitated for a moment before he decided to claim trial despite an explanation from judge Datin Anita Harun that he would be given a chance to mitigate.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Abazafree Mohd Abbas informed the court that although the victim was not known to the accused, the teenager resided within the same area where the incident happened.
As such, he said the probability of witness-tampering was high. He suggested an RM30,000 bail.
Anita then turned to Prabayar and asked if he had a bailor to which he answered yes. She then asked him if he had anything to say about the bail sum. He shook his head.
"Can you afford RM30,000?" the judge asked? Prabayar, who is from Perak, nodded and said yes.
The judge then set bail at the proposed amount in one surety and fixed July 5 for a mention of the case to allow the security guard to appoint a lawyer.
At press time, bail had yet to be posted.
....................................................
Guard on sex charge changes plea
The Star online. News. Courts. Wednesday June 6, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR: A security guard, who admitted to forcing a 13-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him, was stunned when told of the maximum sentence – 20 years and whipping.
He then decided to change his plea.
T. Prabayar, 33, initially pleaded guilty when he was charged at a Sessions Court here with committing the offence in the toilet of a show house in Bandar Baru Sentul around 4pm on May 20.
The security guard, when told about the sentence, hesitated for a moment before deciding to claim trial despite an explanation from judge Datin Anita Harun that he would be given a chance to mitigate.
DPP Mohd Abazafree Mohd Abbas informed the court that the victim lived in the same area where the incident happened.
As such the probability of witness-tampering was high, he said before suggesting a RM30,000 bail.
The judge set bail at the proposed amount in one surety and fixed July 5 for a mention of the case.
At press time, bail had yet to be posted.
By CECIL FUNG
KUALA LUMPUR: A security guard who first admitted to forcing a 13-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him changed his plea when he found out the sentence was 20 years and whipping.
T. Prabayar, 33, initially pleaded guilty when he was charged at a Sessions Court here with committing the offence inside the toilet of a showhouse in Bandar Baru Sentul on May 20 around 4pm.
The security guard, when told about the sentence, hesitated for a moment before he decided to claim trial despite an explanation from judge Datin Anita Harun that he would be given a chance to mitigate.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Abazafree Mohd Abbas informed the court that although the victim was not known to the accused, the teenager resided within the same area where the incident happened.
As such, he said the probability of witness-tampering was high. He suggested an RM30,000 bail.
Anita then turned to Prabayar and asked if he had a bailor to which he answered yes. She then asked him if he had anything to say about the bail sum. He shook his head.
"Can you afford RM30,000?" the judge asked? Prabayar, who is from Perak, nodded and said yes.
The judge then set bail at the proposed amount in one surety and fixed July 5 for a mention of the case to allow the security guard to appoint a lawyer.
At press time, bail had yet to be posted.
....................................................
Guard on sex charge changes plea
The Star online. News. Courts. Wednesday June 6, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR: A security guard, who admitted to forcing a 13-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him, was stunned when told of the maximum sentence – 20 years and whipping.
He then decided to change his plea.
T. Prabayar, 33, initially pleaded guilty when he was charged at a Sessions Court here with committing the offence in the toilet of a show house in Bandar Baru Sentul around 4pm on May 20.
The security guard, when told about the sentence, hesitated for a moment before deciding to claim trial despite an explanation from judge Datin Anita Harun that he would be given a chance to mitigate.
DPP Mohd Abazafree Mohd Abbas informed the court that the victim lived in the same area where the incident happened.
As such the probability of witness-tampering was high, he said before suggesting a RM30,000 bail.
The judge set bail at the proposed amount in one surety and fixed July 5 for a mention of the case.
At press time, bail had yet to be posted.
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
2007 06: Dead newborn found in bin, Indonesian maid held
The Star online. News. Nation Monday June 4, 2007.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested an Indonesian maid believed to have dumped the body of a newborn baby in a rubbish bin outside her employer’s house in Taman Wahyu here.
The maid, in her early 20s, was picked up by police yesterday after her employer found the body and lodged a report at the Jinjang police station at about 10am.
It was learnt that the baby was born alive to the maid last Saturday evening and that the woman had kept the birth a secret from her employer and his wife.
Sentul OCPD Asst Comm K. Kumaran said a police team recovered the body of the baby which was wrapped in a white cloth and placed in a garbage bag.
The body was sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for a post-mortem.
ACP Kumaran said initial investigations showed that only the employer’s other maid, who shared a room with the suspect, knew about the birth.
The roommate informed the employer at about 7am yesterday after the baby was found missing.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested an Indonesian maid believed to have dumped the body of a newborn baby in a rubbish bin outside her employer’s house in Taman Wahyu here.
The maid, in her early 20s, was picked up by police yesterday after her employer found the body and lodged a report at the Jinjang police station at about 10am.
It was learnt that the baby was born alive to the maid last Saturday evening and that the woman had kept the birth a secret from her employer and his wife.
Sentul OCPD Asst Comm K. Kumaran said a police team recovered the body of the baby which was wrapped in a white cloth and placed in a garbage bag.
The body was sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for a post-mortem.
ACP Kumaran said initial investigations showed that only the employer’s other maid, who shared a room with the suspect, knew about the birth.
The roommate informed the employer at about 7am yesterday after the baby was found missing.
2007 06: Teacher pleads guilty to molesting nine-year-old student
The Star online. News. Nation. Monday June 4, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR: A jawi teacher pleaded guilty in a magistrate's court here to molesting a nine-year-old pupil in a religious school classroom last year.
Husin Rohimi, 36, from Kodiang in Kedah, was accused of committing the offence at a Year Two classroom of a school here at 10.30am on Nov 10.
He was charged under Section 354 of the Penal Code, which provides for up to 10 years' jail or a fine or whipping or any two such punishments upon conviction.
The girl's mother had lodged a police report over the molestation on May 25 this year.
A prosecuting officer asked the court to set bail at RM6,000 in one surety and order that the accused would not get any closer to the victim or her family members.
Pleading for a lower bail, Husin said he was only earning RM979 per month from his job.
He said he had to support his three children.
"My youngest child is admitted at Instititut Jantung Negara, madam," he said adding that his wife was present in court to be his bailor.
Magistrate Azniza Mohd Ali granted him to be released on a RM4,000 bail in one surety and set July 23 for sentencing.
...........................................
Teacher charged with molest
NST online. Local News. 5/06/07
KUALA LUMPUR: A 36-year-old Jawi teacher was charged yesterday with molesting a nine-year-old girl at a religious school in November.
Husin Rohimi of Kodiang, Kedah, was charged with molesting the victim at Sekolah Rendah Agama Al Jamiyah on Nov 10 last year.
Husin, who was not represented, pleaded guilty.
Magistrate Azniza Mohd Ali set bail at RM4,000 and fixed July 23 for sentencing.
....................................................
At the Sessions Court, a 23-year-old lorry driver, who was to be sentenced for rape, changed his plea yesterday.
Shah Rull Tajuddin claimed trial to raping a 13-year-old schoolgirl at a room in his house in Cheras, between 11am and 3pm, on May 22.
He was also charged with raping the same victim at the same place between 1pm and 3pm on May 22. Shah Rull had pleaded guilty on Friday to both charges.
Judge Datin Anita Haron set bail at RM20,000 and fixed July 4 for mention.
KUALA LUMPUR: A jawi teacher pleaded guilty in a magistrate's court here to molesting a nine-year-old pupil in a religious school classroom last year.
Husin Rohimi, 36, from Kodiang in Kedah, was accused of committing the offence at a Year Two classroom of a school here at 10.30am on Nov 10.
He was charged under Section 354 of the Penal Code, which provides for up to 10 years' jail or a fine or whipping or any two such punishments upon conviction.
The girl's mother had lodged a police report over the molestation on May 25 this year.
A prosecuting officer asked the court to set bail at RM6,000 in one surety and order that the accused would not get any closer to the victim or her family members.
Pleading for a lower bail, Husin said he was only earning RM979 per month from his job.
He said he had to support his three children.
"My youngest child is admitted at Instititut Jantung Negara, madam," he said adding that his wife was present in court to be his bailor.
Magistrate Azniza Mohd Ali granted him to be released on a RM4,000 bail in one surety and set July 23 for sentencing.
...........................................
Teacher charged with molest
NST online. Local News. 5/06/07
KUALA LUMPUR: A 36-year-old Jawi teacher was charged yesterday with molesting a nine-year-old girl at a religious school in November.
Husin Rohimi of Kodiang, Kedah, was charged with molesting the victim at Sekolah Rendah Agama Al Jamiyah on Nov 10 last year.
Husin, who was not represented, pleaded guilty.
Magistrate Azniza Mohd Ali set bail at RM4,000 and fixed July 23 for sentencing.
....................................................
At the Sessions Court, a 23-year-old lorry driver, who was to be sentenced for rape, changed his plea yesterday.
Shah Rull Tajuddin claimed trial to raping a 13-year-old schoolgirl at a room in his house in Cheras, between 11am and 3pm, on May 22.
He was also charged with raping the same victim at the same place between 1pm and 3pm on May 22. Shah Rull had pleaded guilty on Friday to both charges.
Judge Datin Anita Haron set bail at RM20,000 and fixed July 4 for mention.
2007 06: Home News in Brief : Man pleads guilty to rape
NST online. Local News. 2/6/07
KUALA LUMPUR : A 23-year-old lorry driver pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court to raping an under- age schoolgirl.
Shah Rull Tajudin was charged with raping the 13-year old girl at his house in Jalan Jejaka 9, Taman Maluri, Cheras, here. The incidents happened between 11am and 3pm some time in January, and between 1pm and 3pm on May 22.
KUALA LUMPUR : A 23-year-old lorry driver pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court to raping an under- age schoolgirl.
Shah Rull Tajudin was charged with raping the 13-year old girl at his house in Jalan Jejaka 9, Taman Maluri, Cheras, here. The incidents happened between 11am and 3pm some time in January, and between 1pm and 3pm on May 22.
2007 06: ‘Open secret’ abortions
NST online. Local News. 1/6/07
By : Siti Nurbaiyah Nadzmi
YONG PENG: A young woman walks into the plain, blue shoplot which could have passed for just another vacant unit in town.Not long after, she staggers out — pale and wearing a sarong.
Those in the know would nudge each other — another unwanted pregnancy has been illegally terminated.
The abortion "clinic", as it is whispered among locals, is sandwiched between a car accessory outlet and a workshop, within a row of nondescript, two-storey shophouses in the middle of town.
Located along Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam in Johor, the clinic has been operating for years and although it has no signboards, desperate women like Suraya (all names have been changed) have no difficulty locating the place.
Suraya, who held two jobs, had decided not to continue with her eight-week pregnancy, as she was having financial problems and going through a bad patch with her husband.
She had asked around and a friend told her about the clinic. She also found out that the general practitioner who ran the place had another clinic some blocks away.
Desperate, Suraya paid RM200 as a non-refundable deposit and confirmed her appointment for the next day. She was told that the procedure would cost her RM400 in total. Suraya had expected it to be quick, painless and safe. However, as it turned out, the experience left her physically and emotionally scarred.
She had been told to take two white pills two hours before the procedure.
She then turned up at the doctor’s clinic at 8am with a friend, Latipah, who was to take her home after the abortion.
Suraya paid the doctor the remaining RM200. The doctor then took them to the shoplot. Latipah then left, after telling Suraya to telephone her when the procedure was over.
The shoplot had a presentable reception area with marble flooring and wood panelling on the walls.
The "operation theatre", however, was a different story. It was a makeshift surgery room with an old operating table, a stretcher, minimal medical equipmentand no proper lighting, except for standard fluorescent lights.
The doctor was assisted, not by a nurse, but a cleaning woman. "Once inside the room, the doctor asked me to lie down on the operating table. She then secured my legs with a pair of stirrups and injected a clear liquid into the veins on the back of my hand.
"I heard her telling her assistant that the dosage was not working. I realised then that the clear liquid was an anaesthetic to block the pain.
"Since the anaesthetic did not work, I was alert and could feel the pain throughout the procedure.
"I saw her inserting a plastic tube, like a thin long straw, into me.
"I felt something jabbing and scraping my insides. It felt as if bits of my body were being drained into a vacuum tank.
"I gritted my teeth and desperately tried to block out the excruciating pain, which made me feel like a limb was being torn off my body.
"It was over in about 15 minutes but I was so weak, I could not even lift my legs off the stirrups or hoist myself off the operating table. The doctor and the cleaning lady had to lift me onto the stretcher. They asked me to rest. Then the doctor disappeared, leaving me with her helper.
"I rested for about 20 minutes and asked to go to the toilet. The toilet was filthy. I then telephoned Latipah to come and take me home," said Suraya, shuddering at the memory.
Latipah said that when she turned up at the abortion clinic, she saw a trembling Suraya staggering out of the operating room, unaided.
"She was pale and trembling. I was afraid that she might faint." Suraya was in pain for several days, but, thankfully, she did not bleed after the operation. Nevertheless, she was traumatised by the whole procedure.
"It was a stupid thing to do. I regretted doing it," she said softly.
Meanwhile, a worker in a shop near the abortion clinic, who wanted to be known as only Ayuni, said she would often see pale women staggering out of the shoplot about 9.30am. When asked why no one had lodged a report, Ayuni said the locals preferred not to get involved.
"The abortion clinic is an open secret. Let the authorities do their job."
.................................................................
‘Illegal abortion’ probe under way
NST online. Local News. 2/6/07.
By : Siti Nurbaiyah Nadzmi
YONG PENG: State Health Department officers were sent here to investigate claims of a makeshift surgery room in a shoplot in Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam yesterday.
They found the premises, allegedly the site of illegally performed abortions, closed.
Also closed was a clinic two blocks away which employs the doctor who allegedly performs the illegal abortions.
It is understood that the clinic had opened for business as usual at 8am but was closed three hours later.
The officers, from the department’s Medical Practice Control Unit based in Johor Baru, arrived at 11.30am and found a notice pasted on the clinic’s aluminium grille stating that it would reopen on Monday.
"We are investigating the allegations and will submit the report to the Health Ministry for immediate action," said a department spokesman.
The clinic, which offers X-ray services and claims to be a panel clinic for Fomema Sdn Bhd, has been operating for more than five years.(Fomema is a company tasked with screening the health of foreign workers.)
The clinic is also being investigated under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.
Yesterday, the New Straits Times reported that a shoplot sandwiched between a car accessory outlet and a workshop in a row of two-storey shop houses along Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam, contained a makeshift surgery room for illegal abortions done by a general medical practitioner.
Under the Penal Code, medical practitioners registered under the Medical Act 1971 are allowed to give an opinion in good faith to terminate a woman’s pregnancy. Otherwise, the abortion is deemed illegal.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Medical Association ethics committee chairman Dr Ravindran Jegasothy said a pregnant woman must give her consent to a doctor before she could undergo an abortion.
"Illegal abortions are usually carried out by non-medical practitioners under unsafe conditions and, therefore, puts a woman’s life at risk."
Abortion is an issue debated in every country on moral and religious grounds. "Some countries have banned abortion, some are more liberal, while Malaysia takes the middle approach on the issue by granting a law to allow medical practitioners to perform abortions under certain conditions," he said.
Dr Ravindran said restrictive laws could cause women to opt for unsafe and dangerous abortion methods performed by untrained abortionists.
"There are many issues such as rape, incest and medical conditions which would lead a woman to come to the difficult decision to terminate her pregnancy. It is best to consult a doctor and get counseling before going for abortion," he said.
.....................................................
Health officials inspect illegal abortion ‘dens’
NST online. Local News. 3/6/07
YONG PENG: Officers from the Health Ministry, on a check of premises carrying out illegal abortions, inspected a clinic and a shop along Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam yesterday.
The seven-member team from the ministry’s Medical Practice Division based in Putrajaya, was led by its director Dr Mohamed Khairi Yakub.
"Illegal abortion is a serious offence and we are launching an immediate investigation into the case," Dr Khairi said yesterday.
The clinic was being investigated under the Medical Act 1971 and Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 to see if it had registered the practice, he added. "We are also investigating if the medical practitioner employed by the clinic has been performing illegal abortions at a shop lot about two blocks away." A four-member team from the state Health Department Medical Practice Control Unit (Ukap), based in Johor Baru, was also present during the inspection.
Dr Khairi urged those with information on illegal abortions and other unlawful medical practices to contact Ukap assistant director Dr Haslina Zamani at 07-2245188 or the Putrajaya office at 03-88831039.
The investigation was launched after the New Straits Times reported on Friday that a shop, sandwiched between a car accessory outlet and a workshop within a row of two-storey shop houses along Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam, contained a makeshift surgery room for illegal abortions conducted by a doctor employed at a clinic located about two blocks away.
.................................................
ABORTION CLINIC: Check on health office
NST online. Letters. 5/6/07.
By : CHUA TECK BOON Muar
I WOULD like to congratulate Siti Nurbayah of NST for her report, "Open secret abortions" (NST, June 1).
It was reported that an abortion clinic had been operating for years in Yong Peng and that locals knew about it.
What troubled me most is the fact that the illegal abortions could go unnoticed under the nose of the district health office. It seems the authorities were sleeping all this while and failed to monitor medical clinics under their jurisdiction. Five years of illegal trade but it has taken just one newspaper report to expose it?
I call on the Health Ministry to investigate the district health office as well. Their ignorance (or innocence) has endangered the lives of many patients. The public deserve an explanation.
By : Siti Nurbaiyah Nadzmi
YONG PENG: A young woman walks into the plain, blue shoplot which could have passed for just another vacant unit in town.Not long after, she staggers out — pale and wearing a sarong.
Those in the know would nudge each other — another unwanted pregnancy has been illegally terminated.
The abortion "clinic", as it is whispered among locals, is sandwiched between a car accessory outlet and a workshop, within a row of nondescript, two-storey shophouses in the middle of town.
Located along Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam in Johor, the clinic has been operating for years and although it has no signboards, desperate women like Suraya (all names have been changed) have no difficulty locating the place.
Suraya, who held two jobs, had decided not to continue with her eight-week pregnancy, as she was having financial problems and going through a bad patch with her husband.
She had asked around and a friend told her about the clinic. She also found out that the general practitioner who ran the place had another clinic some blocks away.
Desperate, Suraya paid RM200 as a non-refundable deposit and confirmed her appointment for the next day. She was told that the procedure would cost her RM400 in total. Suraya had expected it to be quick, painless and safe. However, as it turned out, the experience left her physically and emotionally scarred.
She had been told to take two white pills two hours before the procedure.
She then turned up at the doctor’s clinic at 8am with a friend, Latipah, who was to take her home after the abortion.
Suraya paid the doctor the remaining RM200. The doctor then took them to the shoplot. Latipah then left, after telling Suraya to telephone her when the procedure was over.
The shoplot had a presentable reception area with marble flooring and wood panelling on the walls.
The "operation theatre", however, was a different story. It was a makeshift surgery room with an old operating table, a stretcher, minimal medical equipmentand no proper lighting, except for standard fluorescent lights.
The doctor was assisted, not by a nurse, but a cleaning woman. "Once inside the room, the doctor asked me to lie down on the operating table. She then secured my legs with a pair of stirrups and injected a clear liquid into the veins on the back of my hand.
"I heard her telling her assistant that the dosage was not working. I realised then that the clear liquid was an anaesthetic to block the pain.
"Since the anaesthetic did not work, I was alert and could feel the pain throughout the procedure.
"I saw her inserting a plastic tube, like a thin long straw, into me.
"I felt something jabbing and scraping my insides. It felt as if bits of my body were being drained into a vacuum tank.
"I gritted my teeth and desperately tried to block out the excruciating pain, which made me feel like a limb was being torn off my body.
"It was over in about 15 minutes but I was so weak, I could not even lift my legs off the stirrups or hoist myself off the operating table. The doctor and the cleaning lady had to lift me onto the stretcher. They asked me to rest. Then the doctor disappeared, leaving me with her helper.
"I rested for about 20 minutes and asked to go to the toilet. The toilet was filthy. I then telephoned Latipah to come and take me home," said Suraya, shuddering at the memory.
Latipah said that when she turned up at the abortion clinic, she saw a trembling Suraya staggering out of the operating room, unaided.
"She was pale and trembling. I was afraid that she might faint." Suraya was in pain for several days, but, thankfully, she did not bleed after the operation. Nevertheless, she was traumatised by the whole procedure.
"It was a stupid thing to do. I regretted doing it," she said softly.
Meanwhile, a worker in a shop near the abortion clinic, who wanted to be known as only Ayuni, said she would often see pale women staggering out of the shoplot about 9.30am. When asked why no one had lodged a report, Ayuni said the locals preferred not to get involved.
"The abortion clinic is an open secret. Let the authorities do their job."
.................................................................
‘Illegal abortion’ probe under way
NST online. Local News. 2/6/07.
By : Siti Nurbaiyah Nadzmi
YONG PENG: State Health Department officers were sent here to investigate claims of a makeshift surgery room in a shoplot in Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam yesterday.
They found the premises, allegedly the site of illegally performed abortions, closed.
Also closed was a clinic two blocks away which employs the doctor who allegedly performs the illegal abortions.
It is understood that the clinic had opened for business as usual at 8am but was closed three hours later.
The officers, from the department’s Medical Practice Control Unit based in Johor Baru, arrived at 11.30am and found a notice pasted on the clinic’s aluminium grille stating that it would reopen on Monday.
"We are investigating the allegations and will submit the report to the Health Ministry for immediate action," said a department spokesman.
The clinic, which offers X-ray services and claims to be a panel clinic for Fomema Sdn Bhd, has been operating for more than five years.(Fomema is a company tasked with screening the health of foreign workers.)
The clinic is also being investigated under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.
Yesterday, the New Straits Times reported that a shoplot sandwiched between a car accessory outlet and a workshop in a row of two-storey shop houses along Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam, contained a makeshift surgery room for illegal abortions done by a general medical practitioner.
Under the Penal Code, medical practitioners registered under the Medical Act 1971 are allowed to give an opinion in good faith to terminate a woman’s pregnancy. Otherwise, the abortion is deemed illegal.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Medical Association ethics committee chairman Dr Ravindran Jegasothy said a pregnant woman must give her consent to a doctor before she could undergo an abortion.
"Illegal abortions are usually carried out by non-medical practitioners under unsafe conditions and, therefore, puts a woman’s life at risk."
Abortion is an issue debated in every country on moral and religious grounds. "Some countries have banned abortion, some are more liberal, while Malaysia takes the middle approach on the issue by granting a law to allow medical practitioners to perform abortions under certain conditions," he said.
Dr Ravindran said restrictive laws could cause women to opt for unsafe and dangerous abortion methods performed by untrained abortionists.
"There are many issues such as rape, incest and medical conditions which would lead a woman to come to the difficult decision to terminate her pregnancy. It is best to consult a doctor and get counseling before going for abortion," he said.
.....................................................
Health officials inspect illegal abortion ‘dens’
NST online. Local News. 3/6/07
YONG PENG: Officers from the Health Ministry, on a check of premises carrying out illegal abortions, inspected a clinic and a shop along Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam yesterday.
The seven-member team from the ministry’s Medical Practice Division based in Putrajaya, was led by its director Dr Mohamed Khairi Yakub.
"Illegal abortion is a serious offence and we are launching an immediate investigation into the case," Dr Khairi said yesterday.
The clinic was being investigated under the Medical Act 1971 and Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 to see if it had registered the practice, he added. "We are also investigating if the medical practitioner employed by the clinic has been performing illegal abortions at a shop lot about two blocks away." A four-member team from the state Health Department Medical Practice Control Unit (Ukap), based in Johor Baru, was also present during the inspection.
Dr Khairi urged those with information on illegal abortions and other unlawful medical practices to contact Ukap assistant director Dr Haslina Zamani at 07-2245188 or the Putrajaya office at 03-88831039.
The investigation was launched after the New Straits Times reported on Friday that a shop, sandwiched between a car accessory outlet and a workshop within a row of two-storey shop houses along Jalan Yong Peng-Air Hitam, contained a makeshift surgery room for illegal abortions conducted by a doctor employed at a clinic located about two blocks away.
.................................................
ABORTION CLINIC: Check on health office
NST online. Letters. 5/6/07.
By : CHUA TECK BOON Muar
I WOULD like to congratulate Siti Nurbayah of NST for her report, "Open secret abortions" (NST, June 1).
It was reported that an abortion clinic had been operating for years in Yong Peng and that locals knew about it.
What troubled me most is the fact that the illegal abortions could go unnoticed under the nose of the district health office. It seems the authorities were sleeping all this while and failed to monitor medical clinics under their jurisdiction. Five years of illegal trade but it has taken just one newspaper report to expose it?
I call on the Health Ministry to investigate the district health office as well. Their ignorance (or innocence) has endangered the lives of many patients. The public deserve an explanation.
2007 06: Register the sex offenders
The Star online. News. Opinion. Friday June 1, 2007
Why not: By RASLAN SHARIF
READING the newspapers can often be a heart-breaking, gut-wrenching experience.
You turn the pages slowly as you go from headline to headline, pausing now and then to read more of stories that pique your interest.
As the final page is flipped, the odds weigh heavily in favour of your feelings at that particular moment being a mixture of anger, disbelief and disgust, rather than joy, trust and admiration.
Journalists are supposed to be a tough lot, hardened by regular exposure to the worst that humankind has to offer, or so some of us would like to think.
But contrary to popular belief and self-delusion, we do have souls, and our hearts bleed as readily as the next person.
At a personal level, very few things hit me as hard as the occurrence of sex crimes perpetrated against women and children.
Because the news is not just a vocation but also an addiction for me, I find myself of late increasingly punch drunk after doing my rounds of the news.
We read of women raped by burglars who break into their homes, children raped or sodomised by the people who are entrusted with looking after them, and teenage girls raped by boyfriends who then pass them around like a joint of ganja to be shared by all.
Early last month, a 28-year-old pregnant woman in Johor was raped by two men who had hijacked the car she and her three-year-old son were in, while just few days ago, a religious teacher was accused of sodomising two 12-year-olds at their hostel.
And there have been many more incidences over the past several months.
It would seem that more and more people in this country think nothing of committing sexual abuse against others, as if the gravity of the offence amounts to little more than that of shoplifting from a supermarket or running a red light.
Convicted rapists in this country could spend decades behind bars and receive several lashings of the rotan, but these very heavy punishments do not seem to have achieved much by way of being a deterrent.
Police statistics compiled by The Women's Centre for Change, a Penang-based non-profit organisation that provides support for victims of sexual abuse, paint a very grim and disturbing picture.
Reported incidences of rape have doubled from a 1,217 cases in 2000 to 2,431 cases in 2006. Incest cases have also been on the rise, with 332 cases reported last year compared with 213 in 2000.
And this is just a tip of the iceberg. It is estimated that nine out of 10 incidences of criminal sexual abuse go unreported.
Which means there are thousands more women and children out there who suffer in silence. And they do suffer, make no mistake.
Rape Trauma Syndrome is an established medical condition that can afflict rape victims and disrupt their lives for years.
It is even worse for child victims. Child sex abuse affects the physical and emotional development of victims long after the incident.
According to the Encyclopaedia of Crime and Punishment, the long-term effects of child sexual abuse include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual dysfunction, and substance abuse.
Some victims were also twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to non-abused children.
And throughout their lives, sexually abused children are “four times more likely to be at risk for developing a psychiatric disorder and are about three times more likely to abuse substances than their non-abused counterparts.”
It is heavy price that sex abuse victims pay, and some continue to pay all their lives.
If the deterrent sentences offer little protection against sex abuse, then it is clear we need to do more.
I believe many would welcome efforts to have a public registry of convicted sex offenders, both those who are in prison and those who have been released after serving their sentences.
As the son of a mother, the husband of a wife, and the father of two children, I definitely would want to know where such people, especially those found guilty of offences against children, live and work.
Some might argue that a person who has served his sentence should not have his past crimes held against him, especially if the person was a first-time offender. And what if he has been truly rehabilitated?
That sounds like a reasonable argument, but when it involves sex crimes, it doesn't sound so reasonable to me.
Why should such criminals be able to lead normal, private lives when many of their victims have to struggle with theirs in coming to terms with what had been done to them?
In any case, it is doubtful that anyone would want family members to be the evidence that the rehabilitation process did not exactly produce the outcome hoped for.
Others might argue that such a registry would do little to protect society from first-time offenders.
Agreed, but we could do more on that front by significantly increasing our efforts, both on individual and official basis, to educate and heighten awareness, especially among children, on the dos and don'ts, and potential dangers to look out for.
Rape is much more than a crime. It is a despicable, cowardly and often a violent act that has little parallel with other types of non-conforming behaviour.
The human rights of the rapist are the last thing that would concern many people, rightly or wrongly.
Star Online editor Raslan Sharif is at heart a liberal, but believes that we have to draw the line somewhere.
Why not: By RASLAN SHARIF
READING the newspapers can often be a heart-breaking, gut-wrenching experience.
You turn the pages slowly as you go from headline to headline, pausing now and then to read more of stories that pique your interest.
As the final page is flipped, the odds weigh heavily in favour of your feelings at that particular moment being a mixture of anger, disbelief and disgust, rather than joy, trust and admiration.
Journalists are supposed to be a tough lot, hardened by regular exposure to the worst that humankind has to offer, or so some of us would like to think.
But contrary to popular belief and self-delusion, we do have souls, and our hearts bleed as readily as the next person.
At a personal level, very few things hit me as hard as the occurrence of sex crimes perpetrated against women and children.
Because the news is not just a vocation but also an addiction for me, I find myself of late increasingly punch drunk after doing my rounds of the news.
We read of women raped by burglars who break into their homes, children raped or sodomised by the people who are entrusted with looking after them, and teenage girls raped by boyfriends who then pass them around like a joint of ganja to be shared by all.
Early last month, a 28-year-old pregnant woman in Johor was raped by two men who had hijacked the car she and her three-year-old son were in, while just few days ago, a religious teacher was accused of sodomising two 12-year-olds at their hostel.
And there have been many more incidences over the past several months.
It would seem that more and more people in this country think nothing of committing sexual abuse against others, as if the gravity of the offence amounts to little more than that of shoplifting from a supermarket or running a red light.
Convicted rapists in this country could spend decades behind bars and receive several lashings of the rotan, but these very heavy punishments do not seem to have achieved much by way of being a deterrent.
Police statistics compiled by The Women's Centre for Change, a Penang-based non-profit organisation that provides support for victims of sexual abuse, paint a very grim and disturbing picture.
Reported incidences of rape have doubled from a 1,217 cases in 2000 to 2,431 cases in 2006. Incest cases have also been on the rise, with 332 cases reported last year compared with 213 in 2000.
And this is just a tip of the iceberg. It is estimated that nine out of 10 incidences of criminal sexual abuse go unreported.
Which means there are thousands more women and children out there who suffer in silence. And they do suffer, make no mistake.
Rape Trauma Syndrome is an established medical condition that can afflict rape victims and disrupt their lives for years.
It is even worse for child victims. Child sex abuse affects the physical and emotional development of victims long after the incident.
According to the Encyclopaedia of Crime and Punishment, the long-term effects of child sexual abuse include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual dysfunction, and substance abuse.
Some victims were also twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to non-abused children.
And throughout their lives, sexually abused children are “four times more likely to be at risk for developing a psychiatric disorder and are about three times more likely to abuse substances than their non-abused counterparts.”
It is heavy price that sex abuse victims pay, and some continue to pay all their lives.
If the deterrent sentences offer little protection against sex abuse, then it is clear we need to do more.
I believe many would welcome efforts to have a public registry of convicted sex offenders, both those who are in prison and those who have been released after serving their sentences.
As the son of a mother, the husband of a wife, and the father of two children, I definitely would want to know where such people, especially those found guilty of offences against children, live and work.
Some might argue that a person who has served his sentence should not have his past crimes held against him, especially if the person was a first-time offender. And what if he has been truly rehabilitated?
That sounds like a reasonable argument, but when it involves sex crimes, it doesn't sound so reasonable to me.
Why should such criminals be able to lead normal, private lives when many of their victims have to struggle with theirs in coming to terms with what had been done to them?
In any case, it is doubtful that anyone would want family members to be the evidence that the rehabilitation process did not exactly produce the outcome hoped for.
Others might argue that such a registry would do little to protect society from first-time offenders.
Agreed, but we could do more on that front by significantly increasing our efforts, both on individual and official basis, to educate and heighten awareness, especially among children, on the dos and don'ts, and potential dangers to look out for.
Rape is much more than a crime. It is a despicable, cowardly and often a violent act that has little parallel with other types of non-conforming behaviour.
The human rights of the rapist are the last thing that would concern many people, rightly or wrongly.
Star Online editor Raslan Sharif is at heart a liberal, but believes that we have to draw the line somewhere.
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