TOO FEW CHILD ABUSE PROSECUTIONS
Some 14 child abuse cases are reported every day, according to the Welfare Department. Parents are blaming the authorities for not doing enough while the authorities are claiming that they are bogged down with constraints. And reporting such cases is not
ANECDOTAL evidence suggests the authorities are doing too little to prosecute child abuse cases, and that many beatings go unreported because of ‘tedious procedures’. The police, in admitting there is a problem, say they are stymied by inexperienced personnel and a lack of cooperation among agencies.
IF the Welfare Department’s statistics are anything to go by, 14 child abuse cases occur a day. Many more go unreported. Police figures show that in the past five years, only 1,559 cases were reported.
Of the total, 348 cases were brought to court, 124 cases convicted, while 243 cases were listed under the “no further action” category. Another 764 cases are under investigation while 80 are “kept in view” due to a lack of evidence.
The New Straits Times were told by some parents, whose children are either dead or living with injuries having fallen victims to their caregivers, that the authorities were not doing enough to safeguard their children and prosecute the perpetrators.
They are worried that many child abusers run free on the streets.
On the flipside, the authorities claimed that their investigations were hindered by a lack of manpower and coordination between police, medical officers and the Welfare Department.
There is also a need to simplify procedures of reporting child abuse cases.
Bukit Aman Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division principal assistant director Ong Chin Lan, speaking exclusively to NST before her retirement in August, said a lack of evidence was among the challenges faced by the authorities.
She said the authorities could not act because of the delay in the issuance of medical reports and parents withdrawing their reports.
She admitted that a lack of manpower and cooperation hindered enforcement.
“We (the division) do not only handle child abuse cases, but also rape and domestic violence ones. In some districts, we don’t even have enough investigating officers and priority has to be given to murder cases.
“In other countries, they have teams visiting the crime scene, recording statements and holding meetings, but that is rarely the case here because everyone is bogged down.
“Every month, we would have the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect team’s meeting where we discuss every case, but that is not enough. We should have a caseby-case team to allow us to run through each case effectively.”
The NST found that many cases had to be dropped due to inexperienced police investigators and medical officers.
A source familiar with child abuse cases said some investigating officers were inclined to follow the parents’ claim of an accident and conclude the incident as a sudden death case.
“Some depended on physical marks, bruises or other external injuries, but you can’t find these in cases of shaken baby syndrome or other non-accidental injury.
“In most cases, you would find only subdural haemorrhage.
“It may be difficult to identify if the injury was done on purpose or if it was an accident, but it depends on how you investigate.
“It is the responsibility of the police to investigate whether it was an accident or done on purpose.
“Police must visit the crime scene to collect evidence and gather statements to match the stories told,” the source said.
The source said many cases were dismissed because medical officers could not determine if the victim had been abused.
“Sometimes, doctors were unable to provide solid medical statements. They gave too many plausible reasons for the injuries, thus confusing the police.
“In the end, the police would have to come up with their own conclusion,” the source said, adding that some doctors also refused to report any suspected case of abuse to avoid the hassle of going to court if the case was tried.
The source claimed that some deputy public prosecutors refused to take some cases to court.
“There were times when we thought that we had a solid case but the DPP refused to charge the perpetrators. But when we brought the case to a different DPP, the case was taken to court,” the source said.
Ong called on private medical institutions to train their personnel to handle child abuse cases.
“We have been working closely with those in the One Stop Crisis Centre. Most hospitals provide in-service training.
“These institutions need to train their staff on how to differentiate between natural and abused injuries.”
She said the division seldom received reports of child abuse from private medical institutions, adding that even if there were any, most involved only serious injuries.