The sisters – then aged eight and nine – were sexually abused by their mother’s boyfriend.
“Their case was reported to the police and the boyfriend was charged in court. However, the legal process took nine years because of various postponements. It only ended in 2010.
“By then, the elder sister was an adult and the younger sister was finishing school,” he said.
Nayagam said the long delay was unfair to the sisters.
“When they were still young, the (abuse) incident remained fresh in their minds and they would have been able to give details in court.
“Because of the postponements, they forgot the details as time passed by and the case against the boyfriend became weak,” he said.
Nayagam was not sure what eventually happened to the mother’s boyfriend in court.
“Things like this should not happen any more. The courts, in hearing similar cases, should prioritise the children’s welfare so that justice can be served without delay.”
Yesterday, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, in wrapping up his debate on the 12th Malaysia Plan, told the Dewan Rakyat that the government was committed to creating more special sessions courts to hear sexual crime cases involving children.
Wan Junaidi said these courts were operating in each state. The first special court on sexual crime against children was set up in Putrajaya four years ago.
He said judges assigned sexual crime cases are also tied up with other general crime cases under the sessions courts’ jurisdiction.
Nayagam, however, said judges who hear these cases must be trained to understand the victims’ state of mind and give them priority.
“Cases involving children are more complicated.
“Those who work with children, such as the welfare department (JKM) officers, are trained on how to interview them if it is an abuse case. There is no reason for judges to be excluded from such exposure.
“If we have a trained judge to handle these cases, it will be faster and the decisions will be more meaningful,” he added.
Meanwhile, lawyer and NGO founder Nur’Aminahtul Mardiah Md Nor said she supported any plan to have judges focus only on hearing sexual crime cases against children.
“There are a lot of such cases reported daily and we need more judges in every state (to expedite the legal process).
“As much as we understand the need to have special courts for children, we need to acknowledge that cases against adult victims are also increasing and worrying,” she added.