Fatimah (fourth right), Dev Kumar (right) and others show leaflets on crime against women and children. — Photo by Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING: State CID chief SAC Dev Kumar and his D11 crime unit yesterday received words of praise for their determined efforts to eliminate crimes against women and children.
Giving them a pat on the back was Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, who said they had done a good job in bringing the perpetrators to face the wrath of the law.
“SAC Dev Kumar has been a very vocal proponent of anti-violence against women and children and we wish to thank him for what he and his team had done,” she said when visiting the state CID office here yesterday with the state Women and Family Council (MWKS).
On the visit, she said it was to exchange views on how to strengthen the fight against abuse of women and children and to hasten prosecution against the offenders.
She, however, said they had trust in the police but pointed out that such crimes must be speedily and properly investigated and prosecuted.
Fatimah, who is also the president of MWKS, urged the police to handle such cases delicately as the victims were usually traumatised by their ordeals.
She also called on the police to jointly work with civil society to reduce the high incidence of violence against women and children.
Earlier, Dev Kumar briefed Fatimah and the visitors on some crime cases committed against women and children in 2014 and last year, among them 149 rape cases and one incest case.
“The majority of victims are Malays, followed by Ibans, Bidayuhs and Chinese and there were also statutory rape of those below the age of 16 and the majority of the races are Iban, followed by Malay, Bidayuh and Chinese,” he revealed.
He said they usually found out about the cases when the victims were pregnant and most of the perpetrators were men known to them.
He also said they dealt with one case of outraging modesty and six sodomy cases against children last year and the offenders had been charged in court.
Other crimes reported and solved included a child abandonment case and maid abuse by her employer, he added.
Joining the visit were the Women and Family Development Department director Noriah Ahmad and Sarawak Women For Women Society president Margaret Bedus.