AGC reopens rape case on 12-year-old girl
BY LEE YEN MUN
Mohd Fahmi Mohd Alias, 19, and wife posing for a photo during their small wedding reception at Kampung Naga Lilit
PUTRAJAYA: The case of the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl who was married to her accused rapist and divorced a year later has been reopened by the police following a request by the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC).
Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said on he made the call to the police after taking into account the concerns of the public over the issue.
However, he said a decision on whether the case will be prosecuted would only be announced next week after the AGC receives the police findings.
"I have called for further investigations to be done and I have given the police one week to get back to me," Abdul Gani said in a press conference, here, Monday.
Dad: I agreed to teen daughter's marriage because she had been raped
Documentary proof: Saad showing the police reports which were made by his daughter at his house in Kampung Padang Cina in Kulim, Kedah.
KULIM: She was 13 and he 19 when they married last November in what was held up as a blissful union between two young people deeply in love. But all was not what it seemed. They are now divorced amid allegations that the boy and two friends raped the girl four months before they were married.
Nor Fazira Saad lodged a report at the Kulim police station on July 15 last year, claiming that she was raped by two teenagers and later by their friend, her future husband, Mohd Fahmi Mohamed Alias.
Her father, 44-year-old Saad Mustafa, recalled yesterday that Fahmi’s parents came daily to his house begging him to withdraw the report, saying that the possible punishment of up to 20 years jail and whipping would be very harsh for their son.
“They pestered me for five nights until I decided to withdraw the police report six days later ... as a father I understand their concern for their son,” said Saad, who is an odd-job worker.
He also said that he only agreed to her daughter marrying Mohd Fahmi because she had been raped.
“When I went to withdraw the report, the policeman on duty asked me if I had been paid to do so,” said Saad.
“I am not that kind of a person. That would be like prostituting my daughter,” he said.
Click on graphic for larger view.
Saad said the two families arranged for the marriage after obtaining permission from the Kulim Syariah Court on Nov 7 since she was underage.
“My daughter told me her intention to divorce sometime in October when she could no longer tolerate the torment at the hands of her in-laws.
Saad alleged that his daughter was frequently slapped and beaten and was not given any food, and that he had to travel from Kulim to Padang Serai, about 20km away, every day to deliver food to her.
Saad claimed that Mohd Fahmi’s parents never liked Nor Fazira and only arranged for the marriage so that their son would not be tried for rape.
He said that his daughter is now living with a relative in Kuala Lumpur.
Under Malaysian Syariah Law, girls below 16 years and boys below 18 must get the consent of the Syariah Court before they can marry.
On Nov 22 last year, Saad was quoted in The Star as saying that he agreed to the marriage to prevent the couple from being involved in illicit acts.
His daughter stopped schooling after her UPSR and Mohd Fahmi was then helping his father run the family’s palm oil transport business.
Saad had then said that he had put a lot of thought into his young daughter’s marriage and the responsibility that came with married life.
“It is better for them to get married rather than do something that is tak elok (not good),” he said.
Meanwhile, a Kulim district police headquarters spokesman said anyone could withdraw his or her police report.
However, the withdrawal must be approved by the Crime Investigation Department and the Deputy Public Prosecutor.
He declined to comment on Nor Fazira’s case.
The Star
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