KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — Bukit Bendera MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid today questioned the police's failure to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) in investigating a rape case involving a minor in Penang.

She said the absence of both a medical examiner and a woman police officer was unthinkable and should be investigated carefully.

"Didn't the police establish procedures when dealing with child witnesses, under the Child Witness Evidence Act 2007 and the Special Guidelines for Handling Cases of Sexual Offenses Against Children,” she said in a statement today.

Syerleena urged the Home Ministry to look into the matter immediately, which was clearly blatant misconduct by a police officer.

She said she agrees with minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said in saying that the rule of law does not exempt anyone, and the officials involved must be severely punished if found guilty.

"I also hope that the enforcement of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) in June this year, as confirmed by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution, will be able to prevent abuse of power by the police when conducting such investigations.

"The police need to realize that they are not immune from legal action so they can't just do whatever they want and assume they will get away with it," she said.

Yesterday, Azalina — the de facto law minister, spoke out over an alleged rape case involving a police inspector and a 16-year-old girl.

In a Twitter post, Azalina said she viewed the matter very seriously, pointing out that there are specific procedures in place for the police to follow when handling child witnesses.

Harian Metro quoted a source as saying an inspector in his 30s had been detained after the teenager claimed she was raped by the officer at a district police headquarters (IPD) in Kedah last Wednesday.

According to the report, the victim had been called in by the inspector to assist in a probe into a separate rape case that involved the former and her stepfather. - malaymail