KUALA LUMPUR: The 19-year-old man arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a young girl at a mosque in Batang Kali, Hulu Selangor, has a learning disability card, says the Welfare Department.
Selangor Social Welfare Department (JKM) director Azmir Kassim confirmed the man's disability status on Saturday (Feb 22).
"Based on our inspection and review, we found that the individual involved has a persons with disabilities (OKU) card since childhood," he was quoted in Sinar Harian.
The portal had earlier reported that the police were waiting for the Welfare Department to confirm if the suspect had an OKU card.
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan had said that the man has been remanded for seven days.
"The Kuala Kubu Baru Magistrate's Court has issued the remand order for the suspect starting Saturday (Feb 22).
"The suspect has been remanded for seven days for investigation under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017," he added.
The Hulu Selangor police had received a report at 8.19am on Friday (Feb 21) regarding the incident that had gone viral on social media. The suspect was later arrested the same day in the Batang Kali area.
CCTV footage at a mosque in Batang Kali showed the movements of a man suspected of being involved in the sexual assault of a young girl.
During the incident, the victim was performing prayers in the back row of the women's prayer area at the mosque.
Based on the footage, the man lifted the victim and took her to another area where she was believed to have been sexually assaulted.
The victim managed to escape after struggling with the suspect.
