Minister: Amend laws to prevent irresponsible adults from using loopholes

Nancy Shukri

PETALING JAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri has called for a review of the Court of Appeal’s acquittal of a 60-year-old man on charges of raping a 15-year-old girl.

Describing the acquittal as “sad”, Nancy urged the Government to apply for a review under Section 137 of the Federal Court Rules. 

“If there is any weakness in our laws, it is time for the necessary amendments to be made.

“As the minister in charge of law, I will personally take it to task to ensure that all these laws are amended to suit the current needs of our society,” she said in a statement here yesterday.

Bunya Jalong was accused of raping the girl in May, June, July and August 2011 at a hotel in Sibu, causing her to become pregnant.

The victim gave birth at the Sibu Hospital on Feb 5, 2012, with a DNA report confirming Bunya to be the biological father of the baby boy.

On Thursday, the Court of Appeal, which sat in Kuching, decided to unanimously acquit and discharge Bunya, reasoning that it was unsafe to convict him of the charges.

Deputy Solicitor General (I) Datuk Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah had since said that the Attorney-General’s Chambers accepted the decision and that it “maintained the policy of not filing a review”.

A review is not possible since the case orginated from the lower court and no further appeal is allowed after the Court of Appeal.

Nancy said the Chambers, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and the police also needed to work together to prevent “irresponsible adults” from getting away with crime against children due to legal loopholes.

While the Government was already drafting amendments to the relevant laws, she said further amendments now seemed necessary.

Expressing its disappointment over the decision, All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) said this would make it more difficult to successfully bring cases of statutory rape to court and deter reports of the crime. “We call on authorities to carry out an urgent investigation on the reasons for the acquittal,” it said, urging the Chambers to immediately amend existing laws to provide justice to the victims.

On the case of Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, 23, who was jailed five years by the Southwark Crown Court in Britain for child pornography, Nancy said she supported the setting up of a registry of sex offenders. She said there were existing laws under the Penal Code to deal with pornography.

“However, with regards to paedophilia, it is time for us to look into existing laws like the Penal Code and the Child Act to make the necessary amendments where needed,” she said.