The Star Malaysia

COMPANY CEO IN PRIVATE, ACCUSED OF BEING A MOLESTER

Cops confirm probe into child sex abuse reports against former telco head

- By A. ASOHAN and TARRENCE TAN newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: The arrest of a former telco chief executive officer last week for alleged trespass and threats against his ex-wife and her family was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Star has learnt that his ex-wife has lodged at least 15 police reports since 2015, after the couple had divorced, alleging he had also molested and outraged the modesty of their children.

Both have joint custody of their two daughters and one son.

The former CEO was arrested at the Hulu Kelang police station last Thursday after he allegedly trespassed into his ex-wife’s home and issued a death threat the day before.

He was released on police bail on Sunday, a day before his four-day remand ended.

Bukit Aman Sexual, Women and Child Investigat­ions Division (D11) principal assistant director Asst Comm Choo Lily confirmed that D11 had conducted investigat­ions into these previous reports.

She said the cases were classified as NFA (No Further Action) after consultati­on with the deputy public prosecutor­s (DPPs) involved.

“Some of these cases were classified as NFA by the DPP due to lack of evidence.

“Others were mainly reports over custody of their children.

“But if there is any new evidence or allegation­s, of course the case would be re-looked at,” she said.

The earlier police reports, copies of which The Star has obtained, contained allegation­s by the mother that their children had been molested by their own father.

Based on one of these reports, lodged in 2017, D11 applied for an interim protection order for the ex-wife and their children under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

This interim protection order was granted on Nov 14, 2017, by a Magistrate’s Court in Kuala Lumpur, but under Section 4 of the Domestic Violence Act 1994.

However, that order expired last December and in March this year, the investigat­ion was classified as NFA as the Social Welfare Department said investigat­ions into the matter had been completed.

The Star has reached out to the former CEO for his side of the story, but there has been no response as at press time.

A spokespers­on for the Social Welfare Department confirmed the case was classified as NFA when contacted by The Star, but could not provide further informatio­n due to the need for confidenti­ality.

The trail goes back four years when the mother, suspecting something amiss, brought her two daughters to a licensed counsellor in 2015.

This counsellin­g session was recorded on video, which The Star has seen.

In the session, the children graphicall­y recount some of the things their father allegedly did to them.

The counsellor, Wong Kah Peng aka Nicholas Wong, subsequent­ly advised the mother to lodge a police report after hearing the accounts of the two girls, who were aged eight and 10 at the time.

Wong also filed an affidavit with the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court on May 8, 2015, during the couple’s custody hearing, in which he testified that the 10-year-old had told him that her father came to her bed and laid down beside her, then put his penis into her hand.

This woke her up and when she told her father that this made her uncomforta­ble, he told her to keep it a secret.

These allegation­s were present in the video The Star saw, though the daughter added that it might have been an accident.

Wong, in his affidavit, wrote that he was always ready to speak out in court as he had a responsibi­lity under the law to report any immoral activities done to children.

A spokespers­on for the Women’s Aid Organisati­on (WAO), an NGO that supports survivors of domestic violence and other forms of genderbase­d violence, confirmed that it had provided services to the mother at this time.

However, WAO could not provide any more informatio­n, citing confidenti­ality.

In September 2015, the ex-wife lodged another police report at the Pantai police station.

According to this police report, a copy of which The Star has seen, the younger daughter had complained of abdominal pain and nausea to a nurse at the internatio­nal school she was attending.

The nurse then brought the child to Pantai Hospital for a medical examinatio­n, and the doctor there referred the case to the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) for further tests.

The UMMC team advised the mother to lodge the police report as they suspected the child had been molested by an “unknown person”.

In 2017, the mother lodged another report after her younger daughter allegedly told her that their father had molested her and her elder sister at various locations, including at his home.

The mother also lodged a police report last November after her son allegedly said he had been forced to sleep in the nude beside his father.

The Star has learnt that the two girls are currently still staying with their father, while the boy is with the mother.

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 ??  ?? Lasting scars: Experts say that in most child sex abuse cases, the victims are re-traumatise­d in the process of convicting the culprits.
Lasting scars: Experts say that in most child sex abuse cases, the victims are re-traumatise­d in the process of convicting the culprits.

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