Death, nothing less

Eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin may still be alive if only the government had introduced the death penalty for child rapists, says Zaleha Abdullah, 50, of Kampung Tebobon Menggatal, Sabah.

Zaleha is talking sense here for she, too, had gone through the agony of which Nurin's parents and family had gone through. Zaleha's nine-year-old daughter Haserawati,a Primary Four pupil of SK Tebobon was raped and murdered about 7am on Jan 8, 2004 while walking to her school.

Following this case, the Sabah Women's Advisory Council had on Oct 2004, compiled a report and proposal to the Federal Government to impose the death penalty on brutal rapists and those who sexually assault children resulting in their gruesome death.

The Council, in its memorandum, to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Penal Code (Amendment) 2004 Bill, called for capital punishment for rapists.

Zaleha said it was so disgusting to hear how Nurin was sexually abused and murdered. She said nothing less than death by hanging must be imposed on whoever is responsible for such an offence, to ensure such crime would not happened again.

And for the record, 26-year-old drug addict Jamaludin Saripudin is currently serving 20 years jail plus 24 strokes of the rotan for raping Haserawati. He also faces a charge for murdering the girl, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death sentence of conviction. This High Court case is still pending hearing.


My Say:

On this issue I would like to quote what the Consumers Association of Sabah and Labuan president Datuk Patrick Sindu told the Press in Sabah yesterday.

Sindu said,"Seemingly, there is no end in sight to brutal sexual assaults on children in this country. We need drastic actions to stop potential perpetrators of crime against children. They are undeterred by jail sentences and whipping,which mean nothing to them."

"There is too much talk about meting stiffer penalties but these (death sentence) must act as a deterrent. Whenever a child falls pray to sex predator, resulting in death, the whole country will be talking about it. Then the dust settles, we are back to square one, and the crime continues because the would-be offender will not think twice about committing it."