Monday, September 10, 2012

A Mess in Malaysia

As we see, the charge of “incest” is still wielded as a political tool, much as it has been used for centuries. This time, it is in Malaysia, as reported at thestar.com.my by Simon Khoo.

The teenage son of an opposition politician here is expected to be charged with committing incest this week.

Pahang CID chief Senior Asst Comm T. Narenasagaran said police had received a report on the DNA analysis several days ago which revealed that a 14-year-old suspect was the father of a baby girl delivered by a 15-year-old girl last month.

“We have submitted our investigation papers to the Attorney-General chambers to charge the teenager under Section 376 (3) of the Penal Code.

From previous reports, 15-year-old is the defendant’s sister. Actually, she could be his half-sister as their father has two wives and eleven children. For all we know they could have been raised in seperate homes.

The offence carries a jail term of up to 30 years and at least 10 strokes of the rotan, upon conviction.

However, due to the suspect’s age and should he plead guilty, he would likely be ordered to serve time at a children’s rehabilitation institution.

There’s nothing in the report to indicate this was anything but consensual. The defendant is younger than the alleged victim.
Last month, Jerantut police detained a 59-year-old man and his son for suspected incest after the 15-year-old girl delivered a baby girl in Kajang.

Upon questioning, the girl claimed that the father of her baby was a family member.

I’m not familiar with the laws in Malaysia (other than the age of consent being 16). Isn’t there a rape charge, if this indeed was rape? Speaking of rape, I know in some Muslim countries a woman who says she was raped or who gives birth out of wedlock risks some nasty consequences. Is that why she answered the (interrogation?) by saying it was a family member?

If this was consensual, this should not be a crime in the first place. Instead, the new parents should be supported in raising their child. And notice the article doesn’t note that the child has any birth defects. If it wasn't consensual, then the brother should be charged with rape. But nobody should face criminal charges for consensual sex.

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