By : JOSEPH TAWIE
KUCHING: Furious Sarawak PKR
women are demanding a judicial review of the Court of Appeal’s decision to let
off former national bowler Noor Afizal Azizan convicted of having sex with a
minor instead of putting him behind bars.
Noor Afizal was bound over
for five years on a RM25,000 good behavior bond after being found guilty by the
Sessions Court for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.
The Malacca High Court
sentenced Noor Afizal to a five-year jail term following an appeal made by the
prosecution.
The Court of Appeal, which
comprised a three-member panel, had set aside the five-year jail term imposed
on Afizal by the Malacca High Court, and restored the decision of the Sessions
Court.
Sarawak PKR Women chief
Nurhanim Mokhsen said: “We want the Attorney-General to apply for an urgent
judicial review against the decision of the Court of Appeal.
“If we do not appeal the
decision of the Court of Appeal, it will create a precedent and will open a
floodgate of rape cases, especially statutory rapes, in the country.
“Already there is a similar
case in George Town, Penang, where another rapist has been bound over on a good
behaviour for statutory rape.
“This time, it is an
electrician found guilty of raping his 12 year-old girl friend on two occasions
last year.
“We pity these young girls
who have become victims, while the rapists are merely bound over for a good
behaviour.”
An angry Nurhanim asked how
these decision-makers would feel if it happened to their own daughters.
She called on all women
organisations in the state to stand up and voice their anger against the
decision of the Court of Appeal.
“If you are unhappy, stand
up for your rights and join us in calling for a judicial review on the
decision,” she said.
Consensual
act
Meanwhile, a similar case
was reported in Penang. A Sessions Court judge had ordered an electrician to be
bound over on a good behaviour after he was found guilty of raping his
12-year-old girlfriend.
Sessions Court judge Sitarun
Nisa Abdul Aziz ordered Chuah Guan Jiu, now 22, to be bound over for three
years on a RM25,000 good behaviour bond.
She said that the court took
into consideration that Chuah was a young and first-time offender.
“We also consider the sexual
act was consensual and that he is a school drop-out and another consideration
is that of his future,” she said.
On July 20, 2012 Chuah was
found guilty for raping the girl in his flat in Ayer Itam between 7am and 1pm
on July 18 last year and between 2.25pm and 2.45pm on July 19.
The offence under Section
376(1) of the Penal Code carries a maximum sentence of 20 years and whipping.
Review
the law
Meanwhile AFP reported that
child protection activists were calling for a legal review following the court
decisions to allow the two men to go free.
Child rights activist
Hartini Zainudin, who runs the NurSalam crisis centre, said the Penal Code
should be reviewed immediately to ensure children are given the protection they
require.
“How can consent by a child,
12 years old, be a mitigating factor? I’m speaking as a child activist, who’s
just horrified at the implications… on future cases and the message we’re
sending out to perverts and paedophiles,” she told AFP.
Child protection NGO Voice
of the Children also criticised the rulings.
“Is a good behaviour bond
the right sentence for a then 21-year-old man who had sex with a 12-year-old
girl, who has barely entered puberty?” said VoC chairwoman Sharmila Sekaran in
a statement.
“Malaysia determined the age
of consent at 16 years for a reason. The statutory rape law was enacted to
protect young girls. The court needs to consider the nine-year age gap.”
People also expressed
outrage on social media such as Twitter.
“What the courts have
effectively done in these 2 cases is lower the age of statutory rape from 16 to
12,” one user posted Tuesday.
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