'Severe punishment', whipping proposed for child abuse

The Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development has proposed appropriate punishment for abusers under the Children’s Commission Bill to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat this October.

Its minister Nancy Shukri said as the entity responsible for safeguarding the interests of children, the bill must be implemented effectively and in line with the Child Act 2011 (Amendment) 2016.

“We want them (abusers) to be given a severe punishment even though (the implementation of the law) is not under us.

“We provide recommendations to the relevant parties and it is essential that there is an understanding between my ministry and the commission so that there is no overlap.

“(For example) those who are found abusing should be punished with whipping but there are parties who do not agree, so the proposal we put forward is not reckless because we held a comprehensive discussion,” she said.

She was speaking to reporters after the ‘Segulai Sejalai’ Family Love Tour Programme in Kuching, Sarawak today.

Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 provides for a fine of not more than RM50,000 and 20 years imprisonment for any individual, parent, or guardian found guilty of abusing, neglecting, and mistreating a child.

The media reported earlier that the bill to be presented by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Legal and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said was drafted after engagement sessions with stakeholders, knowledge exchange sessions, and in-depth studies.

Regarding the ‘Segulai Sejalai’ programme, Nancy said 3,587 women in Sarawak had undergone breast cancer and cervical cancer (HPV DNA) screenings for this year as of Aug 22.

“So far, Sarawak has recorded 226 HPV-positive cases and, Alhamdulillah, so far zero pre-cancer cases and zero positive cancer cases,” she said.

Organised by the National Population and Family Development Board, the programme provides awareness and HPV DNA screening services for the early detection of cervical cancer and registration of mammogram screening tests to detect breast cancer among women.

For this year, 2,747 women underwent mammogram tests with 30 of them categorised as requiring follow-up checks while three tested positive for breast cancer.

- Bernama