Convicted serial rapist to be deported back to Malaysia

A serial rapist, suspected of assaulting as many as 1,000 victims, has been ordered to be sent back to Malaysia, following the completion of his 24-year prison term in Canada.

Selva Kumar Subbiah, 56, will be accompanied back to Malaysia by three guards from the Canada Border Services Agency, Canadian newspaper Toronto Star reported.

Currently held in custody until Sunday, he was arrested last Saturday when he became eligible for mandatory release after serving his entire prison sentence.

The hearing was told that Malaysian officials had already approved a flight permit for him. However, there was no mention of whether he would walk free in Malaysia or be turned over to law enforcement officials in Malaysia.

At the time of his sentencing, Justice David Humphrey ordered police to accompany Selva Kumar back to Malaysia and give police here his extensive criminal file.

Selva Kumar was convicted at two separate trials more than two decades ago of drugging and sexually assaulting 30 women. But the hearing was told that there might have been hundreds more victims.

“As many as 500 to 1,000 could have been attacked,” said Naima Karimullah, a lawyer for the Canada Border Services Agency.

Selva Kumar’s criminal file appeared to be more than a foot thick.

At a hearing in June 2016, he was found ineligible for parole because he was considered “likely to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person”.

Andrew Laut, who chaired the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada hearing on Monday, told Selva Kumar that he was “the worst offender and the highest risk that has ever come before him in his career”.

Laut also noted that he was declared a “danger to the public” in November 1994, which meant that he could not apply for refugee status.

Selva Kumar, a short, soft-spoken man with a slight British accent, said he was prepared to return to Malaysia, where he has not lived since 1980.

“I’m ready to leave, sir,” he told Laut at Monday’s hearing.

He had previously argued that he would be the victim of discrimination in Malaysia because he is Jewish.

Previously, he had fought unsuccessfully to block Toronto Star from reporting details of his hearing or from photographing him via a video hook-up, arguing that it would be dangerous for him and pointing out that it had already been reported broadly in the media.

Toronto Star however argued that it was important for his victims to know the details of his case and what he looks like now.

“I believe the Malaysian public should be fully aware,” one victim told Toronto Star. “Every border should have his picture.”

One of Selva Kumar’s victims said she was still struggling to cope with the attack on her in the mid-1980s.

“It’s painful,” the woman said. “It’s not easy to go through. But it’s important to talk, to move forward ... to know that you’re not the only one.”

Another victim expressed hope that she could finally relax when Selva Kumar had been deported.

“It’s still sort of a presence,” she said. “Maybe the day after he’s finally gone, I’ll maybe celebrate with a glass of wine.”

Claimed to have studied divinity

Selva Kumar arrived in Canada in 1980 but never obtained permanent resident status. He was granted student and visitor’s visas, and claimed to have studied divinity at McMaster University and Ryerson, but did not graduate from any post-secondary course.

He married two women, one of whom fled the country to escape abuse, the hearing heard.

In 1992, he was convicted at the first of two trials that would ultimately see him sentenced to 24 years in prison for 19 counts of sexual assault, 28 counts of administering a drug or noxious substance, 10 counts of various kinds of assault and a dozen other charges, including extortion.

He committed several of his crimes while posing as a model agent or movie talent scout, often using the names Richard Wild and Ryan Hunter.

Occasionally, he also posed as a professional dancer, a lawyer or a diplomat. He also lured women to the basement of his home through advertisements offering to sell exotic pets.

He would offer them a drink laced with drugs, then rape them and take photos of their naked bodies while they were unconscious.

His trial heard that he was carrying a black book containing the names of 170 women, rated on a scale of 0 to 10, when police arrested him on Aug 7, 1991.

Meanwhile, local daily The Star quoted Immigration Department director-general Mustafar Ali confirming that the department had its own system to vet inbound and outbound passengers to spot sex offenders.

The system filters inbound and outbound passengers using air, land or sea modes of transportation.

“The system does not just cater to those suspected of paedophilia.

“We also share information through other sources and agencies, including Interpol,” he said.

Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed too said the Immigration Department could stop anyone from entering or leaving the country.

“We (police) also have a suspects' list, which is shared with immigration,” he added.

It was reported that immigration officers at the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali stopped an Australian from entering the island, following an Interpol report alleging the man is a paedophile.

The man arrived at the airport on Friday from Perth and was deported the next day.- Mkini