Possible cover-up in sex predator case

Yeoh: Reports being swept under the rug

PETALING JAYA: Authorities are now looking into the possibility of a coverup of the sexual harassment cases involving a department head in a Klang Valley hospital, says Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh.

She said this was because complaints were lodged against the department head but no action was taken.

There were already laws under the Penal Code to deal with the crime of sexual harassment, said Yeoh, but she added that for the cases in this hospital, there was also a need to investigate a possible coverup.

“In this particular case, it is about who covered up (the complaints).

“The victims claimed they reported to the authorities but there had been no action. We are looking into that,” she said at a Bukit Kiara Hikers group picnic yesterday.

Two representatives from her ministry, she said, would be sitting on the independent inquiry body set up by the Health Ministry to monitor the proceedings of the investigation.

Last week, The Star carried a frontpage exposé on a “sex predator” doctor in a Klang Valley hospital who allegedly sexually abused the housemen there.

Yeoh also said there was “urgency” to set in place proper legislation to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace following the report.

“The Sexual Harassment (Act) has been talked about for some time but now with the case involving the Health Ministry, we feel there is a sense of urgency to quickly legislate (the prevention of ) sexual harassment,” she said.

On the proposed Gender Equality Bill by the previous administration, the Segambut MP said the next step forward was to consult religious authorities in drafting the Bill to take cultural norms into account.

Her ministry, Yeoh said, was not only looking at promoting gender equality with this Bill but also examining how to address the issue of discrimination as a whole.

“We are looking at not just on gender (discrimination) but also discriminating against people on other grounds,” she said, adding that they were closely examining the antidiscriminatory aspects of the Bill.

All department heads in government ministries should also undergo a gender sensitisation course, she said.

On the Taman Rimba Kiara development issue, Yeoh said the next court hearing for a judicial review of the case would be in September, adding that some members of the Taman Tun Dr Ismail residents’ association had met Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad on the matter.

“There are many people who want to see Taman Rimba Kiara preserved as a park,” she said.