It was reported that a man charged with raping a 14-year-old girl has avoided prison after he married her.[1]
According to the prosecutor Ahmad Fariz Ahdul Hamid, the accused Ahmad Syukri Yusuf, 22, was charged with statutory rape of the girl late last year and faced up to 30 years in jail and whipping for the offence, but he later married the teenager under Islamic law.
According to the prosecutor, the court ruled that there was no need to continue court proceedings after Ahmad Syukri submitted a marriage certificate last week. The girl had also withdrawn her complaint.
First of all, statutory rape is a very serious offence. Section 376 of the Penal Code defines statutory rape as sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16 whether or not she has given consent. The marriage of the accused and victim does not have the retrospective effect to “right the wrong”! Therefore, how could the court use it as a reason to drop the prosecution proceeding?
Besides, we should never allow the underage victim to withdraw the complaint. Underage victims usually do not understand their rights unambiguously and therefore are normally not in the position to make the decision to protect their best interest. They can be easily influenced by third party, even though the decision may affect them adversely. In circumstances like this, Child Protector, appointed under Child Act 2001, needs to step in to decide for the victim.
Last and not least, it is obvious that the current “protection” against child marriage is not working. This is not the first time that a rapist is allowed to marry his underage victim, and this is surely not going to be the last.
In 2013, Riduan Masmud, 40, a restaurant manager from Sabah, was allowed to take his 13-year old victim as his second wife, despite the fact that he was father of four aged between 3 and 18. He, however, unlike the accused in current case, was sentenced to serve 12 years and whipping.
Malaysia has adopted a United Nations resolution to end child marriage at the Human Rights Council in October 2013. It’s time for our government to honour our pledge and save the girls!
[1] http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/351007
http://says.com/my/news/malaysian-man-escapes-jail-after-marrying-the-14-year-old-he-raped