Child sex predators in our midst

PETALING JAYA: While Malaysians are still reeling from the “horrors” of Richard Huckle, it is no consolation to know that we may have child sex predators in our immediate circle of friends and family.

The Star’s R.AGE section today ran an investigate piece featuring their journalists going undercover as underaged girls to “hook up” with several predators, with whom they had been in touch via mobile chat apps, such as WeChat, BeeTalk and Facebook Messenger.

The undercover stint was conducted over a course of six months and features the journalists’ frightening encounters with their predators, as well as video footage of the “operations”.

One such predator, a 30-something man convinced the journalist, who was disguised as 15-year-old “Natasha”, to “learn to trust” him and tried to lure her to bed in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

The predator was a “groomer”, said the report: someone who trawls mobile chat apps for victims, slowly gaining their trust before manipulating them to fulfill his twisted, perverted fantasies.

The man also admitted to have “done it” with girls as young as 13, according to the report, which added that the journalist managed to wiggle her way out of this encounter.

Another predator the team encountered was a 30-something married man who worked in the media. He demanded the undercover journalist skip tuition just to have sex with him.

Throughout the six-month operation, the team uncovered 70 men who connected with the undercover journalists, who they thought were “underaged”, on mobile chat apps and bombarded them with lewd messages. Some of the men were even bold enough to use their real names.

The worrying fact is, these men, even if they are reported to the police, could end up walking free, The Star reported.

“Until and unless these predators sexually or physically abuse their prey, there’s very little the police in Malaysia can do. These men can continue to exploit – and even extort, young children,” the report said.

Bukit Aman’s D11 unit, which handles sexual crimes and crimes against children, has recorded a staggering 300 percent increase in Internet-initiated rape cases between 2010 and 2015. However, the conviction rate is only about five percent.

An officer with D11 also said that they have submitted proposals for a law on “grooming” to the Attorney-General’s Chambers in view of the growing number of cases on child sex predators.