Sex suspect in custody when girl was sent to her mum, say police

 Penang police explain the whereabouts of the 11-year-old victim after an assemblyman questioned why she was not placed under immediate protection.

Penang police chief Dennis Lim’s statement came after an assemblyman questioned why the girl was returned to a home shared by the alleged offender. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

An 11-year-old schoolgirl allegedly sexually abused by her father was returned to her mother by the welfare department while the man was still in custody, Penang police said today in answer to a query by an assemblyman.

In a statement today, Penang police chief Dennis Lim explained where the girl was taken after her school principal lodged a police report at 11.15am on Oct 16, Bernama reported.

The police chief’s explanation was made after Berapit assemblyman Heng Lee Lee, in a news report, had questioned why the girl was not placed under immediate protection but instead was sent to a home shared with the suspect.

Heng had urged the welfare department to be more compassionate and flexible when handling vulnerable children and called for seamless coordination among welfare officers, medical personnel and the police.

Lim said the girl was placed in the care of her paternal grandmother on Oct 16 as her mother was away in Singapore at the time. The suspected offender was arrested at about 5.30pm that day and remanded until Oct 24, Lim said.

On Oct 17, the girl was referred to the one-stop crisis centre at Penang Hospital and placed in the paediatric ward until Oct 21, when the welfare department handed her to her mother, three days before the man’s remand ended.

Lim said the suspect was charged with sexual assault of a child on Oct 24 and the case would come up for mention on Nov 11. He urged the public not to make speculative comments about the case. - FMT