BANDAR Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has urged the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) to update the public on the progress of their efforts to track down and arrest a teacher who had allegedly raped several secondary school students in Bintulu, Sarawak.
Calling this a matter of public interest, Dr Yii said that it has been five days and so far, there were no news about the suspect who was accused of sexually assaulting and molesting several students in the secondary school that he was working in.
“Since Sarawak has immigration autonomy, I am sure the Immigration Department has records on when the suspect left Sarawak and where he was heading,” Dr Yii said.
“On top of that the police can even monitor his bank transactions to determine his whereabouts or even get a court order to freeze his accounts to flush him out faster.”
Dr Yii said the suspect must be tracked down and arrested as soon as possible to ensure justice for the victims and their families.
“If this drags on any longer, it will give the wrong impression and be perceived as delayed justice for the victims and their families, and this may also affect parents’ confidence to send their children to schools if they feel they are not fully protected,” he noted.
“This is really a serious issue and it is really unfortunate that such incidents happen in a school which is supposed to be a safe place for our children to gain knowledge only to be taken advantage of by [sexual] predators.”
According to news reports, the 33-year-old suspect – identified as Tengku Nasrul Haizal Mohd Nasir from Tumpat, Kelantan – had been detained once to assist in an investigation.
It was understood that that the suspect was once called in to give a police statement but had accused the victim of making a false report. The suspect denied the allegations and was granted bail.
PDRM Bintulu then received another report from a second victim who claimed to to have been groped in a music room in the school.
The suspect was believed to have escaped to Kelantan.
Welfare Department director Noriah Ahmad said the second victim along with her father lodged a police report on July 29 following advice from teachers as it was understood that the alleged sexual assault took place two months ago.
Thereafter, the victim and her father also reported the case to the Bintulu’s Welfare Department where the underage student was immediately placed under the protection of a safety officer.
Since then, the victim has undergone two sessions of counselling on July 29 and Aug 4.
“She is not attending school physically yet, but would have to due to examinations. After the examinations, her father suggested for her to be transferred to another school so she could continue studying in a new environment,” Noriah was quoted as saying by Dayak Daily.
“She is coping and slowly recovering from the trauma, but still feels embarrassed or ashamed because her friends in school already learnt about the case.”
The case is being investigated under Section 376 of the Penal Code for statutory rape. – Aug 17, 2022
