Kota Kinabalu: Rapists should not be allowed to escape punishment under the guise of marriage according to Sabah Women's Action - Resource Group (Sawo).Sawo in a statement said it is shocking that a 40-year-old restaurant manager charged with raping a 13-year-old girl may be allowed to marry her to cover up for his heinous crime.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Nazmeen Zulkifli told a Sessions Court in Sabah, the girl withdrew her accusation against the man in a police report on April 18.
The man had allegedly raped the student inside a parked car at a roadside in Inanam, Kota Kinabalu, at 10am on Feb 18.
Counsel Loretto S. Padua, who represented the manager, told Sessions Court judge Ummu Kalthom Abd Samad that both the accused and the girl are in the process of getting married.
Ahmad Nazmeen said the prosecution has no objection to the case being withdrawn but the man needs to first settle the matter with the Syariah Court.
Its President Winnie Yee said clearly the accused has committed statutory rape but is now trying to escape punishment by marrying the underaged girl, adding that according to the Penal Code, statutory rape is punishable with up to 20 years jail and whipping.
Sawo strongly urge the Attorney General's Chambers to ensure that the alleged rapist does not make a mockery of the law under the guise of marriage.
They appealed to the authorities concerned to use the provisions under the Malaysian Child Act and Child Rights Convention that Malaysia has ratified to protect the girl because her own parents are unable to provide the care and protection that she as a minor should have been given.
This case is part of a disturbing trend where alleged rapists resort to using marriage as a way to escape punishment under the Penal Code. Over the past years, more than 50 per cent of rape cases reported to the police involved underaged girls.
The government and women and child rights groups have been working hard for years to eradicate child marriages.
If the accused is allowed to marry the 13-year-old who has already been traumatised by the rape, we will be condemning her to further abuse and suffering, Sawo said.
Many studies have shown that child marriages are harmful to children and deny them of their freedom and personal development. Research in several countries found that women who marry before the age of 20 were more likely to report experiences of physical or sexual violence when they started living with their husbands.
The alleged rapist's sincerity and motives in wanting to marry the girl are questionable.
Even in normal circumstances, which parent would allow their 13-year-old daughter to marry a 40-year-old man? Using marriage as a solution in this case will only serve the interests of the accused and will create more problems for our society, Sawo added.
Prominent social activist, Anne Keyworth, said a rape is rape, even if the perpetrator marries the victim. "It does not erase the fact that a heinous crime has been committed," she said.
Keyworth, popularly known as Mama Anne, said marriage thereafter should not be taken to mitigate the severity of the crime.
"She is just a child and has not developed fully, physically and mentally speaking.
She must have undergone a traumatic and painful experience.
"Appropriate penalty should be meted out to the rapist to act as a deterrent to similar would-be cases.
"I hope the Syariah Court would speak up for the rights of children," she said.
Quoting health experts, Mama Anne said studies have shown that children born of child marriages tend to have stunted growth. Meanwhile, former Chairperson of the Sabah
Women's Advisory Council (MPWS), Datuk Mariati Robert also denounced the act.
"This is not part of our Malaysian culture. We despise this kind of behaviour, which is setting a bad example to the younger generation," she said. Legally speaking, she stressed that a girl under sixteen cannot give her consent to sex.
"There should have been no sexual relationship until the Syariah Court approved his application and only after the parties are married," she contended.
Mary Kan Kiob, a concerned mother, called for justice, saying the rapist should face the consequences of the law.
"A crime is a crime, regardless of race, religion or even position.
The law is above all citizens and if one is guilty of a crime, one should face the music.
"I strongly believe that it is highly unfair and not right in the eyes of the law to allow a rapist to go free and to think that marrying the victim, in this case a minor, could guarantee his freedom. "Otherwise, rape cases would surely increase if the perpetrators think that marrying the victims would be leeway for them to escape punishment," she argued.
Saying no one should traumatise a person before a proposal to marry, Kiob stressed that loving and protecting under-aged girls should be thought of before one should think of committing a crime, and not vice versa.
"What makes the rapist think that marrying the victim would solve all problems after what she had gone through?
Will marriage put her out of misery? What is the point of the Child Act and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) if we do not comply with their legal provisions," she asked.
