Rape suspect arrested, probe completed
Published on: Tuesday, November 06, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah police have completed investigations into the rape case of a 14-year-old girl at a temporary detention centre in Papar and will hand over the case to the State Public Prosecutor's Office for further action. State Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah (pic) said the case was investigated for rape under Section 376 of the Penal Code.He confirmed that the suspect, believed to be serving as one of the guards at the detention centre, had been arrested.
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He said an identification parade was held and it was believed that the suspect and the victim knew each other, adding that the suspect had been released on police bail after investigations were completed. "We will refer our investigation papers to the Sabah Public Prosecutor's Office for further action," he told a media conference at the State Police Headquarters, here, Monday. Omar also advised the victim and her family to lodge a police report if indeed they had retracted their police report against their will. "It is against the law," he said, commenting on the claims by the victim's aunt that they withdrew their police report out of pressure and fear after being interrogated by five male officers in plainclothes and a female officer in uniform.
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The victim was allegedly raped by one of the guards during her detention at the centre in May this year, just five days before she was deported to the Philippines. A police report was lodged by the victim's aunt who, however, on Nov 2 said she had retracted it out of pressure and fear.
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The alleged incident also prompted the National Security Council to set up an internal committee to probe the case. It also drew concern from the Sabah Women's Action Resource Group (Sawo) which claimed that allegations of sexual harassment against female detainees by guards at temporary detention centres was "rampant". Meanwhile, Omar said he needs facts to support allegations of "rampant" sexual harassment against female detainees by guards at temporary detention centres. He said the Papar detention centre case was the first that he knew of. However, he did not discount the possibility of few cases that happened previously. "Maybe I agree with you (the claims) but I need facts to support that. I don't have the statistics at the moment, give me time to compile how many cases happened in detention centres," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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