Smoother path to justice
The Special Criminal Court on sexual crimes against children will make the experience of testifying less traumatic for young victims and expedite the trial process. In launching the court, which has been lauded by child rights activists, Prime Minister Da
PUTRAJAYA: The newly-launched Special Criminal Court on sexual crimes against children will expedite proceedings and make the experience less stressful for the minors involved.
The court, the first of its kind in Malaysia and South-East Asia, will hear its first case on July 4.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who launched the court yesterday, was hopeful that cases could be resolved in less than a year, as some took years to complete.
He also called for a special set of guidelines on the handling of sexual offences involving children.
“This court is different from the existing Court for Children, where the perpetrators are children. This Special Criminal Court hears criminal cases where children are the victims,” he said in his speech.
The court, Najib said, was an important component in line with the execution of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act.
Earlier, The Star had successfully lobbied over 115 Members of Parliament to pledge their support for new laws against child sexual crimes.
This involved almost a year of campaigning by the paper’s R.AGE team, starting with its award-winning Predator In My Phone undercover investigations (fb.com/ragepmp) of child sex predators, all the way to efforts in lobbying the MPs.
The effort came to fruition with the passing of the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill by the Dewan Rakyat in April.
Fifty-six existing cases under the Penal Code from the Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya Sessions Courts will be transferred to the new court, which is located at the Palace of Justice here.
“We will expand the Special Criminal Court to the other 13 states in the country, in stages,” Najib added.
He said the Judicial and Legal Training Institute, with the help of the AttorneyGeneral’s Chambers (AGC), the judiciary, Bar Council and non-governmental organisations, would carry out continuous capacity-building programmes, training and courses for judges and deputy public prosecutors who would be handling these cases.
Najib said a training programme should be given to defence counsels as well, especially on ethical approaches when questioning a child on the stand to lessen the trauma of the experience.
“At this juncture, I suggest Special Standard Operating Procedures in the handling of sexual offences involving children be drafted in the very near future,” he said.
Najib called for a working committee involving the judiciary, the AGC, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, as well as NGOs specialising in children’s issues including Unicef, to work on drafting the guidelines.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif said in his speech that the new court will be presided over by a senior Sessions Court judge.
“Special courts at the Sessions Court level are not new. There have been other special courts such as the Coroner’s Court, AntiProfiteering Court, Environmental Court and Cyber Court,” he said.
“The performance of these courts are exceptional. About 90% to 95% of the cases could be resolved within the specified timeline, which is a year for special courts,” he said.
The first case at the Special Criminal Court will be heard by Sessions Court judge Yong Zarida Sazali, who has 25 years experience in the legal profession as a deputy public prosecutor, a magistrate and a Sessions Court judge.
When the court was mooted two months ago, Md Raus said it was agreed that it must be equipped with the latest child-friendly facilities and handled by a trained and experienced judge.
Among those present at the launch were Dewan Negara speaker Datuk Seri S. A. Vigneswaran and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.