KUALA LUMPUR – The low rate of arrests against child sex criminals can be attributed to technological constraints and lack of manpower among the authorities, says Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Said.
“The information received by the authorities must be processed using certain software which would involve other agencies like telecommunication companies and internet services providers to detect the details of the owner of an IP address before action can be taken by the police.
“Due to the lack of equipment and manpower, it has caused a low rate of arrests compared to the information we have received,” Ismail said.
Ismail was responding to a question in Parliament during the current meeting by Nurul Izzah Anwar (Permatang Pauh-PH) who asked about Malaysia’s effort to collaborate internationally to fight against paedophilia-related crimes.
Nurul Izzah criticised the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (SOCA) for being inadequate, given that it lacks provisions relating to international collaboration.
She said that SOCA does not comply with Article 10 of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography under the United Nations, which Malaysia is a signatory to.
Article 10 of the protocol simply states that countries are to work together to battle crimes against children.
Ismail responded saying that although SOCA is silent on the issue of international collaboration, the police are cooperating with law enforcement agencies worldwide to gather information and capacity building.
He also added that the SOCA does have international application in the form of what is known as “extraterritorial application”.
This means that if a Malaysian commits sexual crimes against a child abroad, the suspect can be convicted under the act.
“To ensure SOCA has an element of international collaboration, it would be subject to the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development to study the need of any amendments required for this act,” Ismail said. – The Vibes, November 29, 2020
