KUCHING, Feb 22: Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Sri Fatimah Abdullah described the recent incident of a father raping his daughter as “disgusting”.
“The victim was brave enough and she made the right decision to inform her mother even though she was threatened by her own dad. Her mother also made the right decision. He is supposed to care for, look after, provide for and protect his children especially after the divorce.
“Parents divorcing is already a tragic experience for children. To be raped by her own father is another tragedy in her young life. The whole system in our society must not fail a child. Justice must prevail,” Fatimah said.
She also congratulated the police for their success in bringing the suspect to court, prosecuting and ensuring he was punished for his heinous crime.
Meanwhile, the victim’s mother is now working as a general assistant in a store with a monthly income of RM800.
“Ever since the father was arrested, the three children have been living with their mother. They are also receiving the aid scheme under ‘Bantuan Kanak Kanak’ of RM400 per month from the Welfare Department since October last year,” Fatimah said.
In addition, they are also receiving counseling services from the department.
The convicted rapist was an odd job worker who repeatedly raped his underage daughter. He was sentenced to a total of 80 years in prison and 24 strokes of the rotan, after pleading guilty to four counts of rape, committed at his rented house in Pending, since March 2015.
Sessions Court judge Dayang Ellyn Narissa Abang Ahmad meted out the sentence on the 40-year-old after he admitted to all four of the charges under Section 376 (B) of the Penal Code.
The judge ordered the sentences to run consecutively from Feb 21.
The victim, who was only 13 at that time, could not bear with her father and his repeated death threats.
She decided to inform her mother via the WeChat app after three years of suffering through his heinous acts and fearing for her younger siblings’ future (aged 12 and 10) should they face the same situation.
The victim’s mother immediately lodged a police report on June 5 last year and the man was subsequently arrested at his house.
Based on the facts of the case, the victim’s parents were officially divorced in March 2015 and her father was granted full custody of the three children. — DayakDaily
