Dept has own system to filter sex offenders

PETALING JAYA: The Immigration Department has its own system to vet inbound and outbound passengers to spot sex offenders.

The department’s director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the Immigration’s system filters inbound and outbound passengers using air, land or sea modes of transportation.

“The system does not just cater to those suspected of paedophilia.

“We also share information through other sources and agencies, including Interpol,” he said.

It was reported that Immigration officers at the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali stopped an Australian from entering the island, following an Interpol report alleging the man is a paedophile.

The man arrived at the airport on Friday from Perth and was deported the next day.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed too said the Immigration Department can stop anyone from entering or leaving the country.

“We (police) also have a suspect list, which is shared with Immigration,” he added.

Meanwhile, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said her ministry will be meeting with the police very soon to finalise the child sex offenders registry.

The registry, which is part of the Child Act (Amendment) 2015, contains records of those convicted of child sex offences or crimes involving children.

The registry would serve as a reference for employers seeking to hire staff for businesses, which involves children.

This Act carries heavier penalties, namely a maximum fine of RM50,000 and a jail term of up to 20 years for those convicted of child abuse, mistreatment and neglect of children.

Calls for a separate registry for child sexual offenders increased after British paedophile Richard Huckle’s crimes in Malaysia was highlighted last year.

In June 2016, a London court sentenced Huckle to 22 life sentences for sexually violating 23 children and babies in Malaysia, as well as children in Cambodia, for almost a decade.