THE Special Criminal Court on Sexual Crimes Against Children has disposed more than 300 cases since it was set up last June.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said a total of 382 cases were brought to the court in Putrajaya up to February this year.
“A total 314 cases have been disposed while another 68 cases are still pending,” she said to a question by Datuk Seri Hasan Malek (BN-Kuala Pilah) in Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Azalina said cases before the special court must be disposed within 12 months.
To a supplementary question by Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai), Azalina said not all sexual offences against children were committed by paedophiles.
“These despicable acts are committed by those who seize the opportunity, thinking they can get away with it,” she said.
She noted that a study also revealed that the majority of sexual offences against children were committed by assailants who were related to the victim.
Nurul Izzah asked if there were plans to make it mandatory to register offenders of sexual crimes against children on the Child Registry.
She said only 107 offenders were listed in the registry despite over 22,000 sexual crimes against children which took place between 2010 and May last year. Over 13,000 of them involved rape.
To this, Azalina said that she was not in a position to give an answer as it came under the jurisdiction of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.
