Predator’s victim files report
Soup kitchen volunteer comes forward, police seeking more victims
SHAH ALAM: “You look mature but very young.” That was how a soup kitchen volunteer sparked a conversation with a teenage girl on social media.
Selangor police have opened an investigation into the case following an exposé by The Star recently and are looking for more teenagers who might have been groomed by him.
Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Fadzil Ahmat said police had received one report so far.
“We received a report from a 13-year-old student at the Batu 9 Cheras police station on Nov 8.
“The girl claims that in July 2017, between 3pm and 4pm, while she was at a canine swimming centre in Ulu Langat, she met the suspect in his 30s,” he said when contacted.
He added that the girl had gone there with her father to learn firstaid from volunteers of an NGO.
“After two days, the man sent several messages to her through social media, saying that the girl looked grown up for her age.
“The man also invited the girl out for a meal but she declined,” said SAC Fadzil.
“Since then, the man has been constantly sending messages to the girl, asking how she is,” he said, adding that the case was being investigated under Section 12 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act for child grooming.
He said anyone found guilty of such crimes could face a maximum five-year jail term and whipping.
The exposé began when Kembara Kitchen founder William Cheah felt something amiss when a 14-yearold soup kitchen volunteer told him she did not want to work with a specific 36-year-old male volunteer.
After some prodding, the girl showed Cheah Facebook messages from the man calling her his “little sister” and “princess”, and repeatedly asking to meet her in person.
She was not the first teenage girl he had contacted.
In another message involving a 19-year-old volunteer, the man repeatedly asked to meet the girl despite numerous objections from her.
On Wednesday, after Cheah exposed the man’s inappropriate messages on Facebook, at least 10 women stepped forward revealing that they had been harassed by the same man for over 15 years, going as far back as 2003.
The man, who is an executive with a building managing company, deactivated his Facebook profile when Cheah’s exposé went viral.
SAC Fadzil urged witnesses and victims who have faced a similar situation to come forward immediately. Those with information can contact the police hotline at 03-2052 9999 or visit the nearest police station.