Three minors gang-raped, five teenagers arrested

KOTA KINABALU: Three 13-year-old girls who were enticed to try out a “new vape flavour” ended up being gang-raped by four teenagers at a lodging house in Kampung Air here.

The four boys, who were said to have been aided by a girl in luring the victims, have been arrested following a report lodged by one of the victims on April 27, a day after the alleged incident, Kota Kinabalu City police chief Asst Comm Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said.

“All the suspects, including the girl, aged 13 to 17, were arrested around the city and Telipok Ria in Tuaran district,” he said yesterday.

Following the first report by one of the victims, police investigation found that her two friends were also gang-raped by the four who were unknown to them, with a 17-year-old girl as their accomplice.

The group has been remanded until May 5 to assist in investigations, said ACP Mohd Zaidi.

Apart from the rape probe under Section 375(b) of the Penal Code, police are also investigating the suspects for pimping under Section 372(1)(a).

ACP Mohd Zaidi said that in the incident, the five suspects had approached the three victims at a shopping centre in the city and subsequently persuaded them to hang out at their lodgings in Kampung Air.

“While at the house, the three girls were lured into smoking a new flavoured vape.

“They later lost consciousness,” he told reporters at his Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house here.

When the victims woke up in the middle of the night, they found themselves unclothed while the four boys and girl had disappeared, he added.

“All three victims suspected they were raped,” he said, adding that all of them have lodged police reports.