THE Malaysian Bar is aghast at the disclosure that close to 200 vulnerable children, aged between 6 months and 12 years, were sexually abused between March 2006 and December 2014 by a British citizen residing in Malaysia.
All the children preyed on by Richard Huckle, now branded “Britain’s worst paedophile”, were pre-pubescent vulnerable children from minority ethnic communities with whom he had ingratiated himself. He was able to gain access to the children, including those living in shelter homes, by posing as a student, photographer, English teacher and philanthropist.
He offered to help with the children’s education, when in fact, he was abusing them sexually.
He was arrested by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Authority (NCA) on arrival at Gatwick Airport in London in December 2014. He was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, 71 counts of child sex offences in the UK. On June 7, he was sentenced to 22 life sentences to be served concurrently. He faces a minimum jail term of 23 years and 242 days.
In the ensuing public outrage at the magnitude of his crimes, there have been strident calls for the establishment of a registry of sex offenders, the screening of foreign arrivals at immigration checkpoints, and extra vigilance when hiring foreigners as teachers.
The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has requested those with information to come forward or to call the ministry’s “Talian Kasih” anonymously, and plans to conduct community programmes in affected areas.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri had stated that amendments were being made to strengthen laws relating to the protection of children. Police have reportedly established a Child Cyber Sexual Investigation Unit.
These measures by the government are commendable.
However, they do not go far enough to address the fact that for nine years, there was a paedophile living among us and preying on defenceless children.
He remained under the radar, and we, as a society, were oblivious to the harm that he was causing.
It is perplexing that during this prolonged period of abuse of so many children, no suspicions were aroused and no police reports were lodged by any of his victims, their families or communities in which the children lived and attended school.
Furthermore, police reportedly had no knowledge of Huckle until recently, although NCA had allegedly informed the police in November 2014.
It is unclear why there was an apparent lack of police investigation and action against Huckle.
The fact that a paedophile was able to operate with impunity on Malaysian soil demonstrates that sexual abuse of persons at risk is a more prevalent and entrenched problem than appreciated.
It is therefore imperative that we go beyond short-term reactionary measures.
We must investigate and identify the underlying factors and systemic or institutional weaknesses that allow such heinous acts to be perpetrated undetected, so that the causes can be dealt with effectively.
Malaysia, having ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, is obliged to take measures to make sure children are protected, and their rights are respected and upheld.
To achieve this, we must establish a comprehensive national child protection policy that places child protection at the forefront of our national consciousness, and implement it immediately to ensure that such evil will never recur.
The policy must include measures to:
CREATE awareness about the rights of children and our responsibilities in protecting them;
IMPROVE our ability and capacity to detect, report, investigate and follow up on sex crimes against children; and,
ENSURE that our system of administration of justice is sensitive to the needs of the victims and their families, and metes out punishment to those convicted.
Our social services, educational, health and legal systems, as well
as levels of funding, must be assessed.
All steps must be taken to help families protect children’s rights and create an environment where children can grow in good health and safety.
It is no coincidence that the abused children belong to minority and marginalised communities, as perpetrators target the most helpless among us.
Only the formulation and implementation of a national child protection policy will ensure that our children are shielded from harm, enjoy their childhood, and can thrive and fulfil their potential.
The writer, Steven Thiru is president of the Malaysian Bar Council