GEORGE TOWN: Penang police said an 11-year-old girl allegedly sexually abused by her father was placed in her paternal grandmother's temporary care on Oct 16, the day he was arrested and remanded.
She was then handed to her mother on Oct 21, three days before his remand ended, said Penang police chief Datuk Dennis Lim Kwang Keng.
He said the girl's school principal lodged a report with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Southwest district police headquarters at 11.15am on Oct 16, and the suspect was arrested at 5.30pm that day and remanded until Oct 24.
"The girl was referred to the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) at Penang Hospital on Oct 17 and remained in the paediatric ward until Oct 21, when the Southwest district Social Welfare Department handed her to her biological mother," he said in a statement on Sunday night (Nov 8).
Lim said the girl was initially placed in her grandmother's temporary care because her biological mother was in Singapore at the time.
He said the suspect was charged at the Balik Pulau Court on Oct 24 under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, read together with Section 16 of the same Act.
"The case is still being tried, with the next court mention scheduled for Nov 11, 2026," he said and advised the public against speculating or spreading unverified information that could cause misunderstanding about the case.
The statement came following remarks by Berapit state assemblyman Heng Lee Lee in a news report on Thursday questioning the decision to allow the girl to return to a home allegedly shared with the suspect instead of being placed under immediate protection.
Heng urged the Social Welfare Department to adopt a more compassionate, flexible and responsive approach when handling vulnerable children, and called for seamless coordination among welfare officers, medical personnel and police. - Bernama
