GEORGE TOWN: The mother of an 11-year-old girl allegedly sexually abused by her biological father has confirmed that her daughter was sent back to the family home on the same day a police report was lodged last year.
Her account corroborates claims made by Berapit assemblyman Heng Lee Lee that the victim was taken home by her paternal grandmother following the report on Oct 16, 2025.
Speaking to reporters via telephone during Heng’s press conference on Thursday (Nov 5), the mother verified the sequence of events, prompting the assemblyman to question why the child was allowed to return to an environment where the alleged perpetrator resided instead of being placed under immediate state protection.
"The child was supposed to be protected, yet she was sent back to the very house where the alleged abuse took place," Heng said.
According to Heng, the alleged abuse began in August 2025 but only surfaced two months later when the victim confided in a trusted teacher. The school principal subsequently accompanied the girl to lodge a police report on Oct 16.
The child was brought to Penang Hospital for a medical examination the following day. Her mother, who was working in Singapore, rushed back to Penang on Oct 17 to stay with her daughter during her hospitalisation.
Heng criticised the incident as a failure of system safeguards, citing severe gaps in coordination between police, hospitals, and the Social Welfare Department.
The mother revealed that she received no contact from welfare officers during the initial days of her daughter's hospital admission, despite repeatedly asking hospital staff and searching online for help.
Working in Singapore without relatives in Penang, the mother had requested temporary shelter at a children's home for six weeks so her daughter could complete Year Five before transferring schools. However, welfare officers allegedly told her the child was ineligible because she still had living parents, advising her instead to manage alternative care through the Johor Welfare Department on her own.
Facing a lack of state support, the mother was forced to contact her sister in Perak, who took emergency leave to travel to Penang.
"Within about 12 hours, we had to arrange the hospital discharge, school transfer, and bring my daughter home," the mother said, adding that while her daughter is coping, she requires time to heal emotionally.
Heng revealed she only learned of the case through a state assemblyman from another state and personally contacted a welfare officer on Oct 20—four days after the police report.
"I was told the case had not yet been referred to the Social Welfare Department. The officer asked for the family's contact details the following morning and later informed me that welfare officers had visited the child," Heng said, questioning why it took five days for welfare officers to intervene.
Heng urged the department to adopt a more compassionate, flexible, and responsive approach when handling vulnerable children, calling for seamless inter-agency coordination between welfare officers, medical personnel, and the police.
When Heng raised the matter at the Penang State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (Nov 4), State Social Development and Welfare Committee Chairman Lim Siew Khim disputed claims that the victim had been returned to her father's care.
