Victims of a clash of cultures

In good hands: Adam and younger brother Arif walking out of the arrival terminal with Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after flying in from Sweden.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian couple held in Sweden for allegedly hitting their child faces the possibility of up to 10 years in jail if convicted, a Swedish news portal has reported.

The Local, an English language news portal in Sweden interviewed the lawyer representing the children’s mother, Kristofer Stahre, who said that both parents were being held “with restrictions that keep them largely isolated from the outside world.”

“These are law-abiding Malaysian citizens who have raised their children according to customs and laws in Malaysia,” Stahrer said.

The report stated that the children’s parents - Azizul Raheem Awa­luddin and Shalwati Nurshal – risk “being sentenced by up to 10 years in prison” if found guilty.

Stahre said the case was the result of a “clash of cultures”.

Stahre said while it was not the first time that a diplomat had been involved in such a case, the one involving the Malaysian couple was unique as prosecutors were granted a remand order to have the parents detained during the preliminary investigation.

“It’s very rare, but the prosecutor cited concerns that they might flee the country, and that they might continue the crime.

“Another reason given was the possibility that they could affect the investigation if they remained free,” the lawyer explained.

Timo Manninen, a public defender involved in the child custody aspect of the case, was quoted as saying that he sympathised with those in Malaysia who had taken issue with how the case has been handled.

“Things could have been done in a different way so that the parents could have been involved and given their consent to where the children were placed,” said Manninen.

The report said the case involving the Malaysians were among several in recent years involving foreigners.

In September 2011, a visiting Italian politician Giovanni Colasante was convicted by a Swedish court for slapping his son while on holiday in Stockholm.

Colasante, 46, a local politician from southern Italy, was found guilty of assault and fined 6,600 Swedish kroner (RM3,370).

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