ALOR STAR: The 14-year-old girl who was behind the wheel of a car involved in a fatal crash that claimed the life of a motorcyclist in Kuala Kedah last Saturday, has been referred to the Social Welfare Department (JKM).
Kedah police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh said investigations revealed that the girl, who comes from a broken family, is believed to a victim of statutory rape.
"We are investigating the fatal accident case under Section 41 of the Road Transport Act.
"During the course of investigations, we discovered that she belongs to a broken family. We have referred her to JKM for the time being.
"However, I must stress that that we will not compromise on investigations into the fatal crash case.
"We are waiting for the pathology report and once we have completed the probe, we will forward the investigation papers to the Deputy Public Prosecutor's office to decide on the next course of action," he told a press conference at the state police headquarters here today.
On the owner of the Proton Satria driven by the girl during the crash, Fisol said police could not be disclose the details yet due to ongoing investigations.
He added the police will summon the teenage girl's mother to provide information to assist in investigations.
Fisol added that police are also investigating the alleged statutory rape involving the girl under Section 376 of the Penal Code.
Police detained a suspect yesterday and are tracking down another suspect.
"Overall, we have initiated two separate investigations involving the teenager. Firstly, under Section 41(1) of the 1987 Road Transport Act, in relation to the fatal crash that occurred on October 21.
"The second case is regarding the statutory rape cases, as the teenager alleged she had engaged in sexual relations with two men earlier this year, and a few days prior to the accident.
"One of the suspects involved in the statutory rapes has been detained yesterday, and we are still tracking down another individual," he added.
Commenting further, Fisol said there has been an alarming increase in rape cases in the state this year.
"So far this year, we have recorded more than a 140 rape cases involving underaged victims. I urge everyone to be deeply concerned about the rising social issues in the state," he added.
In the 7pm incident in Jalan Kuala Kedah on October 21, Nur Shafiqah Abdullah, 32, a dried fish trader at Pasar Besar Alor Star, was riding the motorcycle while her elder sister, Nooraliza, 43, rode pillion.
The sisters were travelling from the Taman Bersatu traffic light towards Kuala Kedah in the rain when they were rammed by a car driven by the 14-year-old girl, who was travelling from the opposite direction.
Shafiqah died at the scene while Noorazliza suffered multiple injuries.
The teenage girl, a school dropout and unemployed, survived with minor injuries to her nose.
Shafiqah is survived by her husband, Mohamad Firdaus Roslan, 34, and two-year-old son, Muhammad Adam Amar.
It was reported that the car belonged to the friend's mother and police were probing the owner for allowing the teenage girl to drive the vehicle.