Pedophiles 'mask' as good person to lure victims

SHAH ALAM - Putting up a facade of a ‘nice person’ to lure victims is one of the tactics used by pedophiles in the country.

Bukit Aman Chief Assistant Director of the Sexual, Women and Children Investigation Division (D11) Assistant Commissioner Siti Kamsiah Hassan said there were pedophiles who were religious teachers or an ustaz as well as tuition teachers.

“When they want to approach a child, they will use the identity or image of a nice person like a teacher or a religious person.

"By using such images, it would be easier for them to gain the trust of the victims. That is why based on the reported cases, sexual predators were usually teachers and religious people.

“There was a case in Penang which is still ongoing at the trial stage and we believe that the suspect who is a foreigner is a pedophile who is a tuition teacher.

"The victim was a boy who was also his student," she told Sinar Harlan.

She said there were also some reported cases that did not involve physical sexual intercourse but had a negative impact on the victims.

“Although there were cases that do not involve physical contact, it is a serious offence and if the perpetrator shares photos or videos of the victims, it will cause the victims to be traumatised.

"In fact, it will also have a psychological impact on the victims when they engage in sexual activity to the point that it becomes an addiction to have sexual intercourse. That is the serious stage.

"In the end, it could cause them to have sexual intercourse which will eventually lead to other criminal cases such as abortion and so on," she said.

She said there were several main causes of pedophilia which have been identified.

"Firstly, the person might naturally have the instincts and sexual tendencies and they might have been a victim themselves which caused them to be sexually attracted to children.

"It might also be due to addiction from watching child pornography which led them to act that way,” she said.

She said it was surprising that there were also pedophiles who were women.

“We have received reports on cases where the suspect is a woman who is a manager who handles art activities for kids.

“However, such cases have not been detected in the last two to three years,” she said.