4 teenagers arrested in Kedah for alleged gang rape of student in school
The four were arrested after a man was informed by a disciplinary teacher about the circulation of a nude video involving his daughter.
A file photo of a police vehicle with officers in Malaysia. (File photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
KUALA LUMPUR: Four teenagers, including three secondary school students, have been arrested in Kedah for their alleged involvement in the gang rape of another student and the dissemination of pornographic materials.
This comes on the back of a string of major crimes to happen in Malaysia’s schools.
Preliminary investigations found that the four suspects were involved in sexual acts - including group sex - from May to August this year in several locations at the Kedah school, the New Straits Times reported.
The four suspects – which include a former student of the school – were arrested on Sunday (Oct 12) night following a report earlier in the day from a man who was told by a disciplinary teacher about the circulation of a nude video involving his daughter.
"All suspects were remanded for five days starting from the date of their arrest, and six mobile phones were seized for further investigation," acting police chief for Baling district Deputy Superintendent Ahmad Salimi Mat Ali told local media.
No further details were shared by the authorities on the age of the alleged victim nor of the suspects.
Ahmad Salimi noted that the case is being investigated under Section 375B of the Penal Code for gang rape as well as for the transmission of child pornography.
The offence of gang rape carries a jail term of not less than 10 years and up to 30 years as well as caning.
Ahmad Salimi said that the police viewed the incident seriously and urged the public, especially parents and guardians, to monitor the activities and movements of their children, particularly teenagers.
The case in Kedah comes less than a week after it was reported that a Form Three student in Melaka had allegedly been gang-raped by her seniors in a classroom. Form Three in Malaysia is equivalent to being in Secondary Three in Singapore.
The alleged incident had occurred on Oct 2 at a school in Alor Gajah, Melaka.
The four suspects in the Melaka case – who were all aged 17 – have since been arrested and expelled from the school.
In a separate incident in Selangor, a 14-year-old boy was arrested over the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old girl at a school in Damansara on Oct 14, with the case being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
In the wake of the earlier crimes, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said that the unchecked use of social media by youths was responsible for most of these cases.
