Sarawak’s Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah wrote on her Facebook page that the state government will discuss castrating rapists to deal with what they see is a growing concern by citizens regarding the rise in incest cases.
They say that you shouldn’t cut off your nose to spite your face, but Fatimah says that it might be time to amend the Penal Code to include the harsh measure.
In her post over the weekend, she said that “it seemed” such cases were on the rise; however, she said she would officially meet with police today to get a proper briefing regarding the number of incest-rape cases in the state.
The Malay Mail details the cases in Sarawak to hit headlines this year, including and not limited to, the 12-year-old girl who was raped by her 72-year-old grandfather, 20-year-old uncle and three other relatives aged between 16 and 21.
Then there was the case of the 57-year-old grandfather, father and two uncles charged with raping two sisters aged 14 and 19 over the last five years. The older sister is now pregnant.
Another case featured a 15-year-old being raped and impregnated by her father, while yet another one saw a father and uncle rape a 7-year-old girl.
Oh, and this month a farmer was given a 22-year sentence for raping his daughter over a three-year period.
Remember, these are just the cases that have come to light in 2017.
Chemical castration of child sex offenders was introduced in Indonesia last year, while countries including the US, Portugal, Poland, Australia, India and Russia have offered the procedure either as punishment, or by request of someone who feels that they cannot control their sexual urges.
In Malaysia, we have yet to understand why such an abhorrent crime has become commonplace, whether it was always there and people were too afraid to report it, or if it’s a growing trend.
