Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said tabled the bill at the Dewan Rakyat to amend the law to provide for prosecution of the offender under Clause 9 of Section 377CA of Act 574.

This section states that a person is liable to be punished with imprisonment and whipping if the person makes a sexual connection by penetrating another person’s vagina or anus with “any object” without that person’s consent.

The amendment seeks to extend the definition of sexual assault to sexual connection “by using any other part of the body other than the penis”.

It also seeks to make whipping a mandatory punishment for sexual offenders.

The bill states that the proposed amendment is in line with the Appeal Court ruling in the case of Shafee Awang v PP (unreported), whereby the court decided and interpreted that the finger is included in the definition of “object”.

The amendment bill is expected to be debated in the current parliamentary sitting which ends on Thursday.