Suriana Welfare Society chairman James Nayagam said it is impossible for a girl to be raped by another inmate in a police lock-up, if the policemen on duty have done their jobs and followed the SOP.
“Apart from the two policemen on duty during the incident, the district police chief must be investigated and punished as well for failing to ensure his officers comply with the SOP and the safety of the police station,” he told FMT.
“Where is the CCTV, which should be monitored 24 hours? Is the CCTV working? Secondly, why would you (police district chief) assign two policemen to be on duty when there is a female juvenile detained in the lock-up?
“This shows that a police lock-up is no longer a safe place and the current SOP must be reviewed.”
A 16-year-old girl has reported being raped by another inmate while she was held in a police lock-up at the Miri police station on Jan 9.
The case, highlighted by DAP senator Alan Ling, allegedly took place between 4am and 5am, a day after the teenager was picked up in a gambling raid.
Meanwhile, a women’s NGO has stressed that minors should not be placed in a detention centre or a lock-up.
Mayna Patel of the All Women’s Action Society suggested that minors under investigation or suspected of petty crimes be placed under house arrest where their parents or guardian can be the guarantor for them.
“As for minors under investigation for serious offences, they should be placed under juvenile facilities,” she said, adding that CCTV in a lock-up and within the police station is vital to monitor what is going on.
Mayna urged the government to equip all police stations with CCTVs and ensure there is sufficient manpower where policemen will not be swamped with other or too many tasks.
She said the victim needs support in coping with what has happened to her, legally and emotionally. Mental health support for survivors of gender-based violence needs to be made necessary. Furthermore, when the survivor is a minor, the effects have a long term or permanent impact on their lives.
She said investigators should also ask what experiences the 19-year-old alleged perpetrator himself had gone through and whether he was a survivor of rape and abuse himself.
“As such, there is even more reason why minors should not be lumped together with adults and that their cases are handled with more care and sensitivity by authorities.”
Mayna said a police station should be a safe place for all but, unfortunately, that is not the case.
“In the past year, my organisation has noted several cases where survivors were terrified of the police station as they were not given support there and some were even further harassed.
“Police have lost their image of being the protector of the people and this needs to be improved immediately,” she said.