Female cops should handle rape cases , say criminologists

SHAH ALAM - Only female police personnel should handle rape cases involving female complainants.

Universiti Sains Malaysia criminologist Dato’ Dr P. Sundramoorthy said any investigation or questioning involving a female victim, should be conducted in the presence of female police officers.

He said the authorities responsible are suppose to protect the traumatised victim not take advantage of the victim’s vulnerability.

Sundramoorthy also said that the standard operating procedure (SOP) was clear, a rape victim should be sent straight to the hospital to be examined by medical experts.

“Why was the investigating officer doing the medical examination? Who made him doctor?,” he questioned.

“There’s no reason for police personnel to carry out any medical, or forensic examination of a victim,” he told Sinar Daily.

Echoing Sundramoorthy’s view, Management & Science University criminologist Nadiah Syariani Md Shariff also agreed that it would be best if the officer who received the complaint were female, considering the sensitivity of the case and gender of the victim, which mostly involves female survivors as rape victims.

“After the report has been made, a female officer from the Sexual / Domestic Violence / Child Abuse Investigation Division will be assigned to handle the case for further investigation.

“This also includes taking the victim to the hospital for examination and treatment, going to the scene for evidence collection and other procedures as part of the investigation,” she said.

Usually, if the victim reports a rape case after 72 hours, the case will be labelled as a ‘cold case’ to denote a high likelihood of lost or contaminated evidence.

Nadiah also said that it is crucial to follow the correct procedures and create a safe place to prevent the victims from experiencing more stress after being traumatised.

“We do have procedures in place to create a safe space for the victim, starting from when they make the official report on the incident of rape, they will the go through a medical physical and anogenital examination then they will go through legal procedures of which after they will get psychological support and welfare assistance post-incident,” she added.

These procedures and laws are intended to protect not just the victim's rights but also those of the victim's family (who are also considered victims).

Meanwhile, Nadiah also urged the public to study these procedures as well as empower rape victims to make a report.

The criminologists were responding to the incident in which a 16-year-old girl had filed a police report on Saturday in Alor Setar, Kedah, claiming she had been raped by an inspector at the Yan police headquarters.

It was reported that the victim had gone to the police headquarters on Dec 28 to lodge a report alleging that she was raped by her stepfather.

The girl then said that the police officer had asked her to enter his room to carry out inspections.

However, the victim claimed that the police officer took advantage of her in the pretext of inspecting her, and had raped her.

Mohd Maliki Azmi, 34, pleaded not guilty to the charge, which was read out before Judge Roslan Hamid.

He was charged under Section 376(2)(f) of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.

Earlier, the accused also claimed trial to three charges relating to sexual assault against the teenage girl at the same place, time and date.