KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — The likely return of a Malaysian convicted for child porn in the UK back into society here has prompted a DAP MP to press for a sex offenders registry to allay concerns of parents whose children may be studying with the man.
Pointing to the extremity of Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin’s collection of child porn — over 30,000 photographs and videos of minors in various sexual activities — Zairil Khir Johari said such a measure would allay the concern of Malaysians whose sons and daughters would be in close proximity with such a person.
“While I am not against efforts towards rehabilitation of an offender, I wonder whether any parent would be comfortable knowing that their children would be studying alongside someone convicted of such an extreme case of sexual offence.
“I agree that people should be given second chances in life, but there should also be a mechanism to ensure that such offenders are kept track of and prevented from any opportunities to commit such crimes again,” he said in a statement.
Zairil also pointed out that the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) scholar’s case was not the only one involving minors in Malaysia, and reminded Malaysians of the rape-cum-murders of Nurin Jazlin, Nurul Huda Abdul Ghani, and Nurul Nadirah Abdullah, also known as Dirang.
Citing from the rape awareness campaign of DAP assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin, Zairil noted that sexual offences in Malaysia was already on the rise with one rape occurring every 35 minutes and with victims mostly below the age of 16.
“As a parent, the above cases, as well as the recent conviction of the Malaysian scholar in the UK, makes me sick to my stomach.
“Therefore, I believe that it is time the government considers setting up a sex offender registry in order to allow law enforcement agencies to monitor and restrict known sex offenders,” Zairil added.
Nur Fitri was sentenced to five years’ jail in the UK last week after he was convicted of possessing thousands of videos and photos of child porn including 601 “Category A” images depicting penetrative sex with minors.
MARA initially announced that it had cancelled Nur Fitri’s loan after confirming that it had suspended funds for the student in November last year when he was first arrested by the London Metropolitan Police.
But the council has since said it will offer him a “second chance” and allow him to study at any of its institutions of higher learning upon the completion of his sentence.
This also comes after Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal on Monday said his ministry is considering appealing Nur Fitri’s five-year sentence.
MARA’s decision, in particular, has triggered outrage among Malaysians who took to social media to reproach the council for extending a lifeline to Nur Fitri, whom it described as an “exemplary scholar”.
MARA has said that according to British law, a foreigner who has served two thirds of his sentence is eligible to be deported to his home country, and claimed this would be within four weeks of Nur Fitri’s conviction date.
It is unclear how MARA arrived at the conclusion, as according to British media reports, Nur Fitri was sentenced to five years’ jail in the UK last Friday.
– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/with-child-porn-convict-headed-home-lawmaker-moots-sex-fiend-registry#sthash.8A7xBHI7.dpuf