SCHOOLGIRLS RAPED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN THE HEART OF KUCHING TOWN !
By Rosita Maja @ Hueditor
On May 22, 2009, Ivy (not her real name), a 14 year old schoolgirl, was making her way from her secondary school, to wait for her parents at the usual appointed meeting place at the roadside. On her way there, she had to climb an overhead bridge. On the bridge, at 3.30pm, she was stopped by a man at the top of the bridge.
The incident was caught on closed circuit television (CCTV), from a nearby petrol station. An interview with the petrol station staff later, disclosed that they had heard a commotion on the bridge.
A few minutes later the man was seen punching the girl in the stomach. She was dragged down to the foot of the bridge, at an angle which was out of sight of the petrol station staff and the CCTV.
Ivy was raped brutally and left bleeding on the spot, until a passer-by came to her rescue.
The overhead bridge overlooked Jalan Petra Jaya. This is a busy road with a heavy flow of traffic, at all hours of the day or night. Yet rape could happen right here, in the heart of Kuching.
A shocking series of crimes
On May 25, 2009, another girl, Lina (not her real name), aged 12, was waiting by the roadside for her father to fetch her home after school. At around 3.30pm, the same time as the assault on Ivy, an unknown man on a motorcycle approached Lina. The man told Lina that her father had been involved in an accident and had been sent to the hospital. He offered to send Lina to see her father.
Lina was taken to a jungle near a fire station at Semariang. Lina was raped and abandoned at the scene.
There have been three other shocking instances of rape of schoolgirls in Bintulu and Miri, within a time span of the last one week.
This spate of brutal rapes of schoolgirls, in broad daylight, is terrifying schoolgirls and their families, and has triggered alarm from many quarters of Sarawakian society.
Who bears responsibility for our children’s protection?
A friend in the Royal Malaysian Police told me over a cup of coffee: “Well, parents should have the bigger responsibility for protecting the children. Children have 16 hours at home [every day].”
A teacher friend said, “Our duty is to teach the children in school and make sure they learn and study well, and pass exams. After eight hours of our commitment as teachers, we let them go home and whatever happens outside the [school] gate, is quite impossible for us to monitor. “
I, as a mother, have this to say: “I teach my children to behave well, study hard and be a good citizen, to be smart, not to trust strangers, and call for help if they sense danger in public places.
And I always sum up by saying “Call the police! “
I have taught my children from a young age that the police are our defenders of justice, and that police catch criminals and “bad people”.
Now I am despondent. I have this to say to Polis Diraja Malaysia.
What causes the rape of our young children? You may argue it is the negligence of teachers. You may argue it is the negligence of parents. You may even argue it is the negligence of the students themselves.
But the Police were set up for a purpose. The Police were established to pursue a cause. That cause is clear.
Ensure the streets are safe!
A petition was sent to the Sarawak Commissioner of Police on May 27 by PKR Wanita Sarawak
Can we make Sarawak a safer place to live in?
Appendix:
Police statistics show that the number of statutory rape cases in Sarawak had increased to 79 cases last year, from 75 cases in 2007. This year, 31 cases had been reported from January to April.
The table below shows this trend is widespread throughout Malaysia.
Statistics of Rape Cases in Malaysia
YEAR 2005-2007 (By Victims’ Age)
|
AGE |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
|
Below 16 years |
925 |
1303 |
1653 |
|
Above 16 years |
1006 |
1128 |
1445 |
|
TOTAL |
1931 |
2431 |
3098 |
The Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) tells us that, for every rape case reported to the Police, nine others go unreported.
“Hornbill Unleashed invites readers to email us at hueditor@gmail.com with leads or other specific information on issues or individuals involved in or related to the article above.”
thank
4 work in this filed and creating awareness in the world
i support hard work if i became part of u r organization
it my pleasure my wish to u r sit
Comment by snit ugavekar — September 8, 2010 @ 6:09 PM |
[...] can clearly recall that last year, incidents of rape of school girls on the street also aroused great fear and anxiety among the [...]
Pingback by Sarawakians terrified by street crimes « Hornbill Unleashed — March 19, 2010 @ 12:02 AM |
Death penalty please
Comment by ME — June 25, 2009 @ 4:50 PM |
Rape ! Why men want to rape ? They rape and run and for their moment of pleasure ruin an innocent life.
They should rot in hell fire. The police should be responsible for the increase in crimes !
Because criminals don fear police and that is why they dare RAPE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT !
Comment by Kimberly — June 8, 2009 @ 12:42 PM |
Very shocking ! Something somewhere is very wrong with this society. Hope that the government can put more attention to crimes in this country and that women and girls can be more protected.
Women ngos should be more active and push for more to be done by the government. Seems that Parti Keadilan Rakyat is the first to show concerns over this series of rapes of young girls in sarawak.
Thank you PKR sarawak. Hope PKR can form the next government.
Comment by Florence Nightingale — June 7, 2009 @ 5:10 PM |
I agree with you, Golden. Why should we give way ?
These ybs are to serve us! and the police force very willing and have the time to do these.
Come to crimes ? Their standard and usual answer is ” Not cukup orang, we have many cases ” and “Rape happens everywhere ”
No big deal ? Then, angkat bola boss very big deal ?
Comment by Jessie petra jaya — June 5, 2009 @ 3:59 PM |
Polce Outriders Is a Bunch Of Stupid Ass. I never Stop When They approach from in front.Like one incidents At Jalan Santubong.The assH… drove into my path and i dont even bother to brake.Inside my heart CRASH into me if you Dare ITS STILL AN ACCIDENT IN THE END OF THE DAY SEE WHO DIE ! ( And to that Stupid Ass I hope you read this)You think You are HERO for the YB( YOUR BASTxxx )We are Paying for the roadtax & Insurance why Should we give way to you Bunches of YB!!!.We elected YOU ! You Should Be Our DOGS ! For Ambulance & fire Truck Anytim e I LL give way !!!!
NOT TO BUNCHES OF YB ( yOUR bASTarD )
Comment by GoldenPhang — June 5, 2009 @ 2:43 PM |
Well If i m the government Of the day.RAPIST Should Be CASTRATED ( Cut off The Penis ). The Next RAPIST ll surely think 100x before he commit any RAPE !!! It send a very strong Message Loud & Clear & should be done PUBLIC to get the messages Out to the whole community LIVE ON TV. The End results will GUARANTEE that would Be RAPIST Think before they lost control of their sexual lust.
children will remember it once they saw it & when they grow up they ll remember it for LIVES so they wont think off committing RAPES even girls in front pose NAKED !
no Point jailing Them giving FREE FOODS & waste of prison spaces.After 10 Years they will come out and become A more DANGEROUS RAPIST.
Comment by GoldenPhang — June 5, 2009 @ 2:34 PM |
What irks me is those moron police outriders and their precious charges demanding their right of way on the streets. People seem reluctant to give way to ambulances/rescue vehicles, but on seeing approaching VIP entourages, they will go all out to clear a path for these morons!! What is the big hurry? I’ve even seen a moron on a motorbike (not a policeman) who got down from his machine and directing traffic at a traffic light junction so as to let the VIP entourage through. Will this same man do the same thing when an ambulance/fire-truck/rescue991 vehicle comes by?
What I’m saying is what a lot of commenters above agree upon. The police are only good at protecting teir political masters and sadly there are also people who do not seem to get their priorities right. What is the point of trying to give way to a VIP entourage when an ambulance/fire-truck/rescue911 vehicle should be given greater priority? Have you ever seen a police outrider escorting an ambulance (other than a VIP’s ambulance during official functions)?
I’m sure if a survey is conducted to gauge the popularity of government agencies, the PDRM will score the lowest!! Catching criminals and protecting the public at large which is supposed to be their main job function pales in comparison to the way they suck up to their political masters!
Comment by No to police outriders — June 4, 2009 @ 9:56 AM |
haiya man…..just look at KIA, Kuching International Airport…..at least 2 dozen policemen there harassing the public not to stop cars dropping or picking passengers from airport. LOL…… they seems to be so damn free. Nothing else better to do is it? And they don’t even allow you to wait inside the car. So stupid…it’s not that we are causing any jam…
Comment by ksc, the man — June 1, 2009 @ 10:05 PM |
If only one out of ten rape victims report their misfortune, that means more than 30,000 women and girls fell victim to this heinous crime last year! That’s not at all reassuring Najib, Tan Sri Musa, and DS Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. Do something!
Comment by BC — June 1, 2009 @ 7:13 PM |
20 policemen ? i think its more than that. I was a passer by at water front that night and the area was full of police and police cars with siren on. Arrested were decent people who were there to call for Justice.
Maybe to the police, they are more ” criminal” than rapist, robbers ?
Comment by Amin — June 1, 2009 @ 10:36 AM |
Police are too busy taking care of their political masters including protecting them from peaceful activists holding candlelight vigils and shielding them so-called defamation. They claim to have insufficient manpower to fight crime but they can afford to send 20 policemen to hassle 10 candlelight vigilers. It’s sick and disgusting! The sooner we kick out BN, the sooner we can begin to put things right.
Comment by Jasper — May 31, 2009 @ 11:03 PM |
I just had my computer robbed an hour ago !
Crimes so rampant in kuching ! As if the POLICE is Tranparent to them ?
Police should step up force to patrol and if need …. use FRU trucks !
Its failure of the kuching police to instill the fear in the street robbers.
Not enough man power ? Hundreds of them appear if there is illegal assembly !
Sick this country !
Comment by kuching knight — May 31, 2009 @ 9:42 PM |
Lol! Let the parents monitor the children huh? Then what the heck are the police for. Be daylight robbers and be corrupted? Is that it? Is that the only reason they are here? To waste tax payers’ money? They are supposed to be the ones who protect the citizen and what are they doing? Just closing one eye and pretending to see nothing. Ignorance is bliss… yea for them. But what about us? I am a 16-year old girl. Nowadays I don’t even dare to walk around the neighbourhood in fear that something tragic would happen to me. There’s no sense of security at all. I guess if the police have a little more sense of responsibility and be a little more committed, they would instill a that sense of security into us. Let us leave in peace damn it. Urgh!
Comment by Peyton — May 31, 2009 @ 9:18 PM |
Great write up Rosita. You raised an important point and question as to who bears the responsibility to ensure the safety of our children. While parents, teachers and all responsible adults have done our bit in teaching our children to be street-smart, ensuring the safety of the ‘rakyat’ should be the responsibility of PDRM.
I still remember one night there was a fight in the dark alley next to my house. It was clearly a lovers’ spat involving a lot of physical violence as the man was beating up the woman who was screaming in pain. Concerned and alone, I called the police to save the lady from being the victim of crime of passion. I explained my assessment of the situation and after giving my telephone contact, I was asked to wait for a call from the Mobile Unit. Minutes later I received a called to confirm the situation and my location. Ten minutes went by and the lady was still receiving blows to her body. I called the police mobile unit to find out where they are and guess what was the answer I received? “Ada tauke di X location kenak kacau samseng. Kami masih lagik sana jaga itu tauke. Diorang masih gaduh ka? Biasalah mereka itu selalu mabuk”… My question is, where do we turn to if we need help since we are not taukes and tauke-nios? Obviously from the experience that I had dealing with them and from the impression that I get from others, PDRM is busy taking care of the ‘pay master’, whomever they might be. They are also busy arresting people for fasting, wearing as certain color of clothing or harassing some people for having private parties/functions. Guess rape cases involving children or marginalized communities and beating up of women don’t fall into their list of priority..
Just in case you wonder what happened to the poor lady in the alley near my house, she and her lover eventually kiss and made up, but not after getting bruised all over her body…sigghhh…
Comment by Gustri — May 31, 2009 @ 5:02 PM |
Very true ! Parents has a duty towards their children, their food shelter and education.
Police has a duty to safeguard the public.
When rape happens, its a crime. Why the crime happen ? Because there are criminals on the streets.
Why crimes very rampant ? Because there is no state of ” police fear “.
Its alike kiddy hide and seek game …. ” U cannot catch me , u cannot catch me !” …
Comment by Jasmine — May 31, 2009 @ 2:13 PM |
Polis dibayar untuk menjaga keselamatan. I bayar police too. Ibubapa tidak “ditrained” untuk membenteras jenayah. Polis sepatutnya terima semua kes dengan penuh commitment dan tidak boleh sekali kali salahkan pihak lain.
16 jam di rumah? Tapi rogol berlaku di luar kawasan rumah. Adakah ibubapa bertanggungjawab atas orang jahat yang berlepak di jalan raya ?
Comment by bapa dari petra jaya — May 31, 2009 @ 2:04 PM |
Police have other priorities. Protecting the political masters is number one. The Police take statements from DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and PKR’s Gobalakrishnan during the Penanti campaign, for saying Najib was responsible for the mess in Perak. If that is a crime, they should arrest 90% of Perak’s population. Can build a new Kamunting City mega-project: “Satu lagi projek daripada Barisan Nasional”.
Comment by Pak Bui — May 31, 2009 @ 9:49 AM |
Relax Makan Pension/ Royal Malaysian Police
Increase pay, increase benefit = increase in crime, something seriously wrong with this equation…
Our police are most apt at hiding behind trees and awaiting cars with no seat belts.Everytime something major happens they are nowhere to be seen.
Shameful!
Comment by buta hati — May 31, 2009 @ 8:10 AM |