GEORGE TOWN: A foreigner was detained after he was beaten up by passersby, shortly after he sexually molested a 7-year-old girl at a shopping complex in Bayan Lepas here yesterday.
Northeast district police chief Assistant Commissioner Razlam Ab Hamid said the victim and her mother were queuing up at a counter to pay for something when the suspect approached her.
He said the suspect then rubbed himself against the victim's buttock.
"Angered by the incident, the mother shouted at the suspect who then fled.
"Curious passersby caught up with the suspect and punched him. The suspect sustained injuries to his face," he said today.
Razlam said policemen who arrived at the scene after being alerted to the incident detained the suspect, in his 40s.
"We have obtained a three-day remand order against the suspect.
"The case is being investigated under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping on conviction."