Face the law, married or not

The Star
by WONG PEK MEI

PETALING JAYA: The man who plans to marry a 13-year-old girl he allegedly raped should still face the law, said the Malaysian Bar.

Its president Christopher Leong said the statutory rape charge should still stand.

“The two getting married does not resolve the issue of alleged statutory rape by a 40-year-old.

“We cannot send the wrong message to society that statutory rape is acceptable if the alleged culprit subsequently marries the alleged underage victim,” he said yesterday.

On May 9, it was reported that the restaurant manager had agreed to marry the teen who then decided to withdraw her accusation against him in a police report lodged on April 18.

The man had allegedly raped the student inside a parked car at a roadside in Inanam, near Kota Kinabalu, at 10am on Feb 18.

DPP Ahmad Nazmeen Zulkifli told Sessions Court judge Ummu Kalthom Abd Samad the prosecution had no objection to the case being withdrawn but the man needed to first settle the matter with the Syariah Court.

Sisters in Islam executive director Ratna Osman concurred that the charge for statutory rape should proceed.

“There is a criminal charge here. An accused does not get the privilege of escaping criminal charges by deciding to marry the victim he is accused of raping,” she said.

Ratna called on the Syariah Court to reject any application for marriage to a minor under 18, especially since there is a pending criminal charge against the applicant in this case.

Association of Women Lawyers' president Meera Samanther questioned the consent allegedly given by the girl to marry the man.

“Does this young girl have the mental and physical capability to consent to such an important decision like marriage?,” she asked.

“We have to act in the best interests of the child as stated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that Malaysia has ratified.”

Meanwhile, Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said any decision lies with the Attorney-General's Chambers.

“We have completed our investigations and submitted the findings.

“It is up to the A-G on the next move,” he said.