ALOR STAR: The Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) Penang has welcomed the first special court to deal with cases involving sexual crimes against children in the country.
WCC Penang executive director Loh Cheng Kooi said such a court would expedite sexual criminal cases involving young children.
“We hope the new court can reduce the trial period for children who became victims of sexual crimes. The agony and trauma of the crime has taken a toll on them. Thus, a special court to handle their cases will help them gain justice faster,” she said.
Loh said WCC had been handling cases involving child victims of sexual crimes and understood the agony that the victims and the families faced. She hoped that the court would be set up in other states.
In Kangar, Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia (Ikram) Wanita backed the government’s efforts in deterring sexual crimes against children.
The non-governmental organisation said setting up the court was proof of the government’s concern on the issue and its seriousness in tackling the problem.
Ikram Wanita chief Azrul Nizah Yusof said sexual crimes against children were worsening and it occurred not only in urban but also rural areas.
“There was a number of incidents which were not reported to the authorities for various reasons, including protecting the image of victim’s family and, in some cases, the crime being committed by family members.
“With the special court, it is likely that more parents or guardians would not hesitate to come forward and the proceedings of the cases could be expedited,” she said, adding that Ikram had spread awareness on sexual crimes against children through its Mothers Against Pornography unit nationwide.
Rosmila Halimin, 33, described the move as timely, especially with the increasing number of child sexual abuse cases.
In Melaka, Newbridge College Melaka marketing executive Parveen Jeram, 31 said the establishment of the court would ensure efficient handling of child sex crime cases.
“This (establishment of special court) is an excellent move. At the moment, we do not have any special court to address child sex crimes although there has been existing laws and acts at hand to protect the children.
“But, because we do not have a court that runs all these cases, we have lots of sexual cases happening and some even went unreported,” she added.
Kindergarten owner Marianne Chandran, 45, said she hoped that the special court could be set up in Melaka soon to tackle child sexual abuse cases.
“I do social work, I do so many things related to children, so I understand how sexual abuse affects a child’s life.”
In Shah Alam, father of four, Ridzuan Mohd, 46, said the establishment of the special court showed how serious the government was in fighting sexual abuse against children and paedophiles.
The private company sales manager, in lauding the move, said the government should also consider introducing more severe punishment against such offences, including life sentence and caning.
“Besides that, there is also the need to pass a law to prevent an abuser from marrying the child he sexually abused.”