Baim listened intently for more than three hours, translating her words into a sketch that was used by the police to nab the rapist.

“This young woman was raped and impregnated by a man she had only seen twice before,” he said in an interview with FMT. “The family lodged a police report only after she had given birth.”

Baim said the victim had just completed her SPM and it was she who sought his help to identify the perpetrator. “She told the police she had seen her attacker before but was unsure of his identity.”

He said he drew the portrait from the victim’s description as well as from his study of the facial features of her baby, who did not resemble her.

“She confirmed the man in the portrait was her rapist,” he said.

Because his job ended with the handing over of the sketch to the police, he did not know the outcome of the case.

It was not the first time Baim had used his talent to help the police, nor would it be the last.

He went on to assist the police in more than 20 cases.

In 2009, he helped with a case that was as touching as the one involving the teenage girl. A woman who was kidnapped by three men had managed to escape. She tried to identity her kidnappers for the police using a software programme but failed.

Baim said the woman clearly remembered her kidnappers but the software was unable to come up with images matching her description. So the police decided to seek his help.

Baim said the portraits he drew were far more accurate than the ones produced from the computer software.

“Even though I was only sketching the portraits, hearing the woman recall her ordeal left a deep impression on me,” he said.

He said it was often difficult to listen to the victims’ painful stories but he was proud to play a role in getting the bad guys off the streets.

Baim graduated from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 1987 with a degree in electrical engineering. However, art was his first love and he decided to pursue it as a career.

“My father wanted me to study electrical engineering because he believed that artists could not make a decent living,” he said.

His father was proven wrong. Art has put food on his table for 30 years. He is paid for every sketch he makes, but he declined to disclose details.

Technological advancements mean sketch artists are no longer frequently consulted, but Baim believes they still have a role to play.

“It is undeniable that technology helps, but artists are more accurate as we can draw facial expressions, which computers cannot do.”

Baim, now 50 years old, runs an art booth at Pasar Seni.