Sexual crimes on the rise in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR - Sexual crimes are increasing in Malaysia, with almost half the victims being kids and teenage girls.

According to head of the police sexual crimes unit Zaiton Che Lah, sex offences have risen consistently over the last five years.

“We are already on alert that rape cases have been rising since 2005. A worrying trend, however, is the rise of rape against the young, which we estimate to be around 50 percent of the total number of rape cases each year,” the Star Online quoted Zaiton as telling the Sunday Star.

Last year, a total of 2,048 rape cases involving girls aged 16 and below were recorded, compared to 925 cases in 2005.

While a big percentage of the cases were statutory rape, Zaiton pointed out that many young girls were coerced into sex or preyed on by sexual offenders.

“Kids today get involved in relationships earlier, so they are more vulnerable. Many are easily duped and are not equipped to defend themselves in risky situations,” she added.

There are an alarming number of young girls who are raped by male acquaintances they had just met.

“They meet a guy for the first time and willingly follow him home. This is the risk because the boy is essentially a stranger and he can rape or sexually violate the girl when they are alone.

“Or worse, he might have his friends waiting, and they will gang-rape her,” she said.

She added that cases like these are hard for the police to solve as most of the time the girls did not even know the boy’s full name,

“Some cannot even describe the perpetrators or give the address of the crime scene, so we have difficulty investigating the case.”

Internet and mobile technology were other factors connected to the spike in rape cases, said Zaiton.

Many are increasingly using them as a way to prey on prospective victims and keeping them under their thumb through blackmail using nude photos and sex tapes, she said. (ANI)