SEPANG: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will provide necessary assistance to the parents of a 9-month-old infant who was abducted from her babysitter's house in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, on Tuesday.
Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun said the Social Welfare Department had been instructed to facilitate any assistance needed to the family.
She said the department and ministry would do so without interfering in the ongoing police investigation.
"For now, we do not want to interfere with the police investigation in the case, which involves a teenager as the main suspect.
"'We are waiting for the full report from the police," she said after attending the Jelajah Kasih Kanak-Kanak Prihatin pioneer programme against online sexual crimes involving children at Bukit Bangkong Community Hall here.
Present was the Social Welfare Department director-general Datuk Shaharuddin Abu Sohot. Police have arrested five people, including a 14-year-old girl, to assist investigations into the kidnapping of the baby girl.
The underage suspect is believed to be the babysitter's grandchild. The girl, who is a dropout, was arrested with her 18-year-old boyfriend, his mother, 43, his stepfather, 30, and a male friend, 18, on the same night.
Speaking on the arrest of the minor, Shaharuddin said if found guilty, the department would apply to the court to have the suspect serve the sentence under the department's care.
He said this was, however, subject to the court's decision since prisons also have special accommodation for minor offenders.
"The suspect will be subjected to the existing provisions of the law," he said.
When speaking about today's event, Rina said the ministry, through the Social Welfare Department, was collaborating with the Selangor Children's Representative Council in carrying out the pilot awareness programme in the state.
'The programme is aimed at educating young children from being manipulated by irresponsible quarters on social media. It is undeniable that children are exposed to sexual crimes via social media at their tender age."
She said there had been at least 94,000 internet protocol (IP) reports on child sexual-related offences online between 2017 and last year.
"This is a serious issue which must be addressed comprehensively to ensure the safety of our young children."
She said various initiatives had been implemented by government agencies and other quarters to protect children's safety, besides curbing any unhealthy elements that involved children on social media.
"Apart from the family, community members have a role to play in providing a safe environment for children in any way possible".
Besides Bukit Bangkong, the Jelajah Kasih Kanak-Kanak Prihatin programme would soon be held in Kampung Labu Lanjut, Salak, here. The programme will be carried out in Selangor until Sept 3.
Rina said if the response was encouraging, the ministry would consider expanding the programme to other states to educate and create awareness about children's safety online.
"Early exposure to online sexual crime methods and teaching children about how to identify inappropriate behaviours and the manipulation done by a child predator will greatly help efforts to curb such crime."