Hannah Yeoh: Stop blaming and shaming woman victim in autism molest case

PUTRAJAYA: Members of the public need to stop “nasty comments” on the 23-year-old victim in the molest case involving a 22-year-old autistic man, said Hannah Yeoh (pic).

The Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister said she met with the victim who she said was “very traumatised” by the incident.

“I urge the public to stop condemning the victim.

“This young woman, who is the victim in this case, was very traumatised by the incident. I have seen the police report and she was actually touched in the private parts.

“I have seen online comments. The victim shaming and victim blaming has to stop.

"Many do not know the true facts of the case. Some even questioned the victim’s dressing. This is irrelevant to what happened,” said Yeoh to reporters after attending the 2018 National Women’s Day celebrations here.

On Sept 11, Ahmad Ziqri Morshidi was arrested for allegedly molesting the 23-year-old woman.

He was taken to court to be remanded the next day, but the application was rejected. He was then released on police bail.

According to his family members, Ahmad Ziqri has the mental capacity of a 13-year-old.

His mother said her son did not understand the consequences of his actions or why he was being arrested.

“In this case, we could say that there are two victims. One is the woman victim who was molested, and the other is the autistic man who is accused of it," said Yeoh.

“I ask that the public give both families space. What we as Malaysians need to do is to raise awareness about autism and other disabilities so we know how to handle these sort of cases in the future,” said Yeoh.

Yeoh said the ministry is looking into the case thoroughly and will discuss with authorities to come up with a standard operating procedure on how to manage such cases.