MCA wants Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to explain why he ordered a sexual abuse case involving a tahfiz student in Perak to be dropped.
Updated: A report that the magistrate decided to dismiss the case after the court was provided with a letter from the Perak Prosecutor’s Office containing a directive by Tommy Thomas is untrue; the A-G issued no written directive, and none was mentioned in the letter.
MCA spokesperson Chan Quin Er said Thomas should explain why he used his discretion to drop the case, despite Ipoh magistrate’s court confirming that an offence had taken place.
“Why did Thomas utilise this discretionary power that he is bestowed with?
“This action makes a mockery of the magistrate court, in addition to the criminal investigations by the police and public prosecutors.
“It sends a wrong message that paedophiles can get away with their exploitation,” the former deputy public prosecutor said in a Facebook post today.
“We hope he can comprehend the humiliation and emotional trauma that will haunt a sexually violated minor for life. The parents are afflicted too,” she added.
Chan said that meddling into proceedings has brought disrepute to the credibility and independence of the attorney-general and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
It was reported on Monday that the court had dismissed the case merely two months after recognising that an offence did take place.
Magistrate Mohammad Afifi Mohammad Deen decided to dismiss the case after the court was provided with a letter from the Perak State Legal Adviser’s Office, containing a directive by Thomas under Article 145(3) of the federal constitution.
The mother had previously lodged police reports in 2016 alleging that her son, who was nine years old at the time, was sexually abused together with other students by their seniors at the tahfiz school.
However, police reportedly told the mother there would be no further action in the case, prompting her to eventually filing a complaint with the court.
Her son, who is now 13, is reportedly still undergoing therapy to overcome his trauma.
The mother is reportedly planning a civil lawsuit over the matter.
The tahfiz school was previously owned by popular preacher Kazim Elias, who gave up his ownership due to dwindling enrolments.
The mother thanked the magistrate who gave her family a favourable outcome and the lawyers who represented them but had some harsh words against prosecutors who decided against going ahead with the case linked to celebrity preacher Kazim.
“To the prosecutor, ‘thank you’ for choosing to not prosecute those who committed crimes against my child,” the mother wrote in a lengthy Facebook post.
“I’m confident, you will also be prosecuted one day, at the Court of God in the afterlife. Be ready, since you are a Muslim too.”
She also accused the investigators of “showing their true colours” by allegedly skipping the psychiatric and paediatric experts’ reports in the investigation papers.
The mother said the case would set an ugly precedent, where any minor who becomes a victim of bullying, assault, sodomy or rape by those connected to the elites, will not receive justice despite overwhelming evidence.
She insisted that in this case, the police did not even follow standard operating procedures such as getting the victim to identify the suspect, video recording a minor’s statement, and getting the victim to identify the place where the offence took place.
In addition, she also pointed out that there has been speculation that the investigation paper was completely empty.
“If this is true, what can we hope from our police, from our judiciary? This only proves that the law only skews towards the rich, influential, and famous, not for commoners like us,” she said.