Nancy Shukri
KUCHING: The Attorney- General’s Chambers is reviewing the definition of rape under Section 375 of the Penal Code to expand it beyond penile penetration.
Announcing the review in a press statement on Wednesday, de-facto Law Minister Nancy Shukri said the case where the Court of Appeal acquitted a 60- year-old man of charges of raping a 15-year-old girl because the panel of judges accepted that his claim that he impregnated her using his finger smeared with his sperm was infuriating.Nancy admitted that the country’s existing laws were not perfect and needed to be amended.
“Under status quo, forceful penetration by fingers does not constitute rape under Section 375 of the Penal Code. This is intolerable.
“As the minister in charge of law, I will personally take it to task to ensure that all these laws will continuously be amended to suit the current needs of our society,” stressed Nancy. She said she had personally written to the Attorney General’s Chambers to request for a judicial review and for the existing law to be amended.
“Rape is intolerable! It is particularly pernicious when other sexual offenders exploit the technicalities of the law to escape the hands of justice.”
She gave the assurance that those who exploit the loopholes in the law will be brought to justice. “I look forward to working with all parties in solidifying our country’s laws. Regardless of your status, if you have any feedback and suggestions, do not hesitate to forward it to me,” said Nancy.
Meanwhile, Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah had on Tuesday said the petition to review the acquittal of the 60-year-old man for finger raping a minor and impregnating her was rejected by Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail. She said she received a reply from the AG’s Chambers that no review would be done on the case. Despite refusing to review the case, the AG however agreed to revise Section 375 of the Penal Code.
Bunya Jalong, 60, was charged with raping a 14-year-old minor in 2011 who later gave birth in 2012.Despite confirmation from DNA test that Bunya is the father of the child, Bunya was acquitted by the Appeals Court due to the narrow definition of ‘rape’ which is defined as ‘penile penetration’.
She said what happened after rape was even worse as the rape victims were usually the ones being left to bear the aftermath such as trauma and worst, when the victims were impregnated during the rape.
She said Sarawak had the highest population of teenage mothers in Malaysia despite a slight decrease in the number of cases last year.
In terms of the number of teenage pregnancy cases, Kuching has the highest number as its hospitals serve a big population but in terms of population ratio Kapit has the highest number of teenage pregnancy, followed by Betong and Bintulu.
Fatimah believes with the amendment to the Penal Code, minors of male and female gender would be better protected from any sexually predatory adults who prey on or take advantage of those below 16 who are deemed by law to be unable to make sound decision.