I am certain that every right-thinking Malaysian is shocked over news of the conviction of a Malaysian scholar in London for being in possession of some of the most extreme child pornography material the London Metropolitan Police has ever encountered.
The Math scholar studying at the world-renowned Imperial College was caught in possession of not only more than 30,000 videos and images including abuse involving penetrative sexual activity with children, but also a life-sized mannequin of a young boy.
Sex offenders in our midst?
Today, it was reported that having rescinded his study loan, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) has decided to allow the offender to continue his studies in Malaysia after serving his sentence for possession of child pornography. The reason for this is to allow the student a “second chance.”
While I am not against efforts towards rehabilitation of an offender, I wonder whether any parent would be comfortable knowing that their children would be studying alongside someone convicted of such an extreme case of sexual offence. I agree that people should be given second chances in life, but there should also be a mechanism to ensure that such offenders are kept track of and prevented from any opportunities to commit such crimes again.
In many countries, such a mechanism takes the form of a sex offender registry that allows law enforcement agencies to monitor and place restrictions on the movements and activities of offenders, depending on their type of offence, sentence-length and risk of reoccurrence. Restrictions include limited access to certain locations such as schools or day-care centres, being involved in work with minors, or using the Internet.
In most countries that maintain a sex offender registry, information is only available to authorised police personnel and relevant departments that deal with child welfare and education. Although the registry is made publicly available in the United States, there are disputes as to its effectiveness of an open database, in addition to concerns about the potential violation of civil liberties.
Time to protect our children
Sexual offences are increasingly becoming a scourge in Malaysia. Recently, Damansara Utama Assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin highlighted that a woman is raped every 35 minutes in Malaysia. Worst of all, most of the victims are under the age of 16.
I am sure many of us recall the 2007 case of 8-year-old Nurin Jazlin who went missing near her family home in Wangsa Maju. She would later be found sexually assaulted and strangled to death. Her rapist and murderer remains free.
Besides Nurin Jazlin, there have been numerous other cases of horrific sexual offences against children in recent times, such as the rape and murder of 10-year-old Nurul Huda Abdul Ghani and 5-year-old Nurul Nadirah Abdullah, also known as Dirang.
While many of us look to the law to protect our children, two separate cases in 2012 saw two men found guilty of statutory rape who were released on good behaviour bonds instead of being sent to jail.
As a parent, the above cases, as well as the recent conviction of the Malaysian scholar in the UK, makes me sick to my stomach. Therefore, I believe that it is time the Government considers setting up a sex offender registry in order to allow law enforcement agencies to monitor and restrict known sex offenders.