Convicted paedophile psychiatrist: “The more reason for a comprehensive public sex offenders registry”

 

WANITA MCA has reiterated its call for a comprehensive and publicly accessible sex offenders registry, saying the society has a right to be informed about convicted sex assailants and child groomers who present a clear and ongoing danger to the public.

This is following the widely reported case of Dr Amirul Arif Mohd Yunos, a Malaysian psychiatrist who practised in Ireland and was convicted by an Irish court of sexually abusing a teenage patient.

Wanita MCA national deputy chairperson Tee Hooi Ling said Amirul Arif’s case highlights the dangers posed by individuals in positions of authority and their potential influence, and thereby accentuates the need for the public to have an accessible Public Sex Offenders Registry in Malaysia.

“The society has a right to be informed about convicted sex assailants and child groomers, who present a clear and ongoing danger,” Tee shared.

“This is especially once Amirul Arif’s eight-year term in Ireland is up with 25% remission, after which Irish authorities will deport him back to Malaysia in under five years.”

According to Tee, Malaysia’s Sexual Crime Registry, introduced in 2019, has not reached its full potential. With limited access and an unclear clause of needing a ‘valid reason’ to access it, the ambiguity surrounding the registry has gone on for too long.

“A redesign (of the registry) is long overdue; the public should have the right to identify people convicted of sexual crimes and considered to be of the highest concern to public safety especially if they are convicted of offences against children, predatory behaviour, and sexual assault,” she stressed.

“These include returned Malaysians who were convicted abroad like Amirul Arif, who, once these years have passed, may even retain his psychiatrist title and practice, Malaysian serial rapist Selva Kumar Subiah who had served a 24-year jail sentence in Canada for sexually assaulting dozens of women in Toronto and Mathematics student whiz Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin who was convicted in the UK for possession of child pornography.”

Tee said at the very least, having a Public Sex Offenders Registry would warn parents and communities of predators in their area, letting them take extra measures to protect themselves and their children.

“Justice requires unwavering vigilance, starting with public scrutiny and awareness. At the same time, we also hope that individuals convicted of sex-related offences will reflect with remorse on the trauma inflicted onto their victims and repent from their past crimes,” she added.

Dublin-based Amirul Arif, 38, who worked at a mental health clinic for children, was asked by a couple with whom he was acquainted, to treat their daughter back in 2022, The Irish Times reported two days ago.

While not formally his patient, Amirul Arif was said to have taken advantage of his professional position to inappropriately touch, have oral and penetrative sex with a girl multiple times with the last offence taking place in September last year.

In a victim impact statement, read to the Dublin Criminal Court by prosecuting counsel Derek Cooney BL, the girl, now 17, said she is traumatised and will “forever carry doubt towards the intentions of people who want to help me”.

After considering the mitigating circumstances, such as his early guilty plea, lack of prior convictions, letter of apology and a psychological report, Crowe sentenced Amirul Arif to eight-and-a-half years in jail, backdated to the time he was arrested. – Focus Malaysia