By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 15: Offending children must face the full weight of the law, political analyst Dato Peter Minos warned today, stressing that such measures are essential to send a clear message to youths that violent crimes will not be tolerated.
His comments came in the wake of two shocking incidents in Peninsula Malaysia, the gang rape of a Form Three schoolgirl in Melaka and the fatal stabbing of a Form Four girl in Petaling Jaya.
“These are not cases from the United States, where such tragedies are unfortunately more commonplace, but here at home. Something is very wrong with our kids, or with the education system, or perhaps with society today,” he said in a statement today.
The Melaka case reportedly occurred on Oct 2, when the Form Three student was allegedly assaulted by two Form Five male students while two others recorded the act. The incident only came to light after the video circulated among students and was reported to teachers and the victim’s mother on Oct 10. The four accused have since been expelled from school.
In Petaling Jaya, a 16-year-old female student was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old male student at a secondary school in Bandar Utama. Police confirmed the suspect’s arrest and said preliminary investigations revealed no element of bullying. Multiple stab wounds were found on the victim’s body, with further details to be released following a post-mortem.
Minos said that while the root causes of such violent behaviour among youths are difficult to pinpoint, the solution is clear: “If kids rape and kill and we take it lightly, it sends a dangerous signal that they can do as they please. We must be human but firm. An example must be set that rape and killing by the young is totally unacceptable and intolerable in society.”
He further highlighted the potential role of the education system, suggesting that excessive pressure on students, poor guidance, or negative teacher examples may contribute to the problem.
“Those in charge of education must see the dangers and the wrongs among our school children. There must be a solution, and the police and Education Ministry should sit down together to address this urgently,” he said. — DayakDaily
