Kidnapping Offences in Malaysia

While Malaysia’s crime rate has significantly reduced (a fall of 47% of crime as reported by previous Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs), we still must not forget that crimes still exists. On this, we shall focus on the crime of kidnapping.

Kidnapping, as defined by the Malaysian Penal Code, is taking or enticing away a minor without the consent of a legal guardian or taking a person away from Malaysia without consent of that person or without legal authority to do so. In similarity, abduction refers to an induction by force or deceitful means for a person to go to any other places.

In 2014, 2015 children were reported missing and 1782 missing children were reported in 2015, with Johor being the state with the highest recorded number of cases, followed by Selangor and Kedah. It seems that girls are often targeted as 1536 of the cases reported in 2014 were of little girls while boys were involved in 474 cases. As a culmination of 2014 and 2015 kidnapping cases, Malays were the highest number with 2691 cases, followed by other races with 596 cases and Indians with 409 cases and Chinese being the lowest with 241 cases.

As of 2017, it was reported that there were 4 children that go missing daily nationwide and whilst half of these cases were children running away for a taste of freedom, it remains that a significant number of children are still missing every day.

A notable case from the past was the kidnapping of the 8-year-old Nurin Jazlin in 2007, who was being kidnapped and death, came as a big shock to the nation. Nurin was kidnapped at Wangsa Maju and her body was found in a duffle bag, showing signs of strangulation and sexual assault. The brutality of this case led to public outcry for the death penalty to be used against those convicted of such crimes.

It is unfortunate to report that Nurin’s case will not be the last as recently in March of 2018, there was a reported case of 2 siblings being kidnapped from their kindergarten. Raheel Khan, aged of 6 and his sister, Aleya Reyhana, aged of 4 were taken away by a woman when it was their aunt that was supposed to pick them up. However, it was suspected that it may be their biological mother, who was a New Zealander seeking to bring them back to her home country, that picked them up as their parents were divorced.

This is where the lines are blurred as is it still a kidnapping if the parents are the ones to do so? Children abducted or retained overseas by their parents can be returned to their habitual country by the courts of that country as per the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. But Malaysia has not signed this convention and ‘kidnapping’ by biological parents to bring their children here might not be against the law.

Nonetheless, not all kidnappings are perpetrated by parents but by strangers or child molesters. Most kidnappers have a modus operandi when it comes to selecting a victim. In ransom cases, the kidnapper will often follow steps: target selection, planning, deployment, attack, exploitation and escape (Maher, 2017). However, not all kidnappings are seeking for ransom. Human trafficking plays a large role in both kidnappings and abductions as Malaysia’s underage sex industry is blooming and child beggars are a lucrative source of income.

Additionally, terrorism-based abductions are also on the rise. Most notably, the incidents of a string of abduction in Sabah by the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf. These militant groups use kidnaping as a means to fund their terrorism activities as the ransom they demand can be a large amount since they kidnap several people at once. These repeated kidnappings can be contributed to corruption and information leaks by border security.

Despite that, The Royal Malaysian Navy has been actively taking steps to combat these abductions, going so far as imposing a dawn to dusk curfew and collaborating with the Philippines and Indonesia to instate joint patrols off the coast of the Sulu Sea.

It is also evident that the Malaysian Government has taken a hard line against kidnapping as it is one of the few crimes that warrants mandatory death penalty as a punishment. However, since the government may plan to abolish the mandatory death penalty (Mohsen, 2018), the public can rest assured that kidnapping still carries a harsh sentence such as life imprisonment and whipping.

Furthermore, following the tragic death of Nurin Jazlin back in 2007, the government has since set up a missing child alert system known as the National Urgent Response (NUR) Alert whereby government agencies and the public receive information on a missing child through various means of communication and recently, the Royal Malaysian Police has also announced plans to incorporate NUR Alert into Facebook.

The government has also been considering a sexual offender’s registry which would boost awareness regarding sexual offenders that may live in our communities as a considerable amount of kidnapping cases involves sexual assault too. The creation of this registry would be under the authority of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and be enforced under the Child Act 2001, following appropriate amendments.

Therefore, is kidnapping not a threat for you? Think again. Chris Falkenberg alleged that as the economic crisis continues, not only children are targeted, even adults are at the risk to be abducted, particularly those who demonstrate or possess a level of fortune and business attainment.

While Malaysia continues to be considered as a much-urbanized country, stronger security actions should be exercised with regard to reduce the rate of crime, predominantly in kidnapping. Yet, there are still certain hidden issues should be drawn to the attention which ultimately made kidnapping prevalent around the world, such as unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, religion, greed, politics and corruption.

It is not just the relevant authorities’' responsibilities to carry out the short-term action plans to reduce the rate of kidnapping in Malaysia, it is also about the individual’s responsibilities to maintain a moderate living lifestyle by avoiding wearing eye-catching items that will attract the attention of the public. Other than that, conversation involving huge amount of money should be avoided in public as well because this could imply that you possess a wealthy background and will likely put you in danger.

Meanwhile, one should not expose too much information about themselves or their family members on social media. It is not necessary to flaunt expensive and lavish living lifestyles or new assets acquired. Information like location should be made invisible on the social media by turning off the GPS functionality when not in use. Most users are not aware of their personal and sensitive information being disclosed in detailed on the social media when they access it.

Besides, there must be an initiative urging the Malaysia government and the local authorities, media, community groups and NGO’s to raise awareness and educate the public through activities like awareness related speech with ways to prevent kidnapping. There is also a need to increase the awareness level of kidnapping to the public and making sure that they could take preventive actions to protect themselves in the changing environment.

Moving on, there are several long-term action plans which could be taken to overcome the rate of kidnapping in Malaysia. Parents are urged to keep in track of their children and to provide them necessary protection. Parents always want the best for their children. Unfortunately, parents nowadays do not realize that it is equally important to draw attention on the safety precautions to their children. Children are not matured enough to make appropriate judgment when given the complex situation to them, they probably may not be able to react in time when a sudden danger occurs.

At all time, young children should always be closely supervised by their parents. As they grow older, parents should start briefing them on the safety issues. The parents should empower children to voice up against strangers if they have committed an action that made them feel uncomfortable. Parents should stop taking things for granted and eventually put the blame on others when something bad turns up.

Moreover, the general public today has become indifferent and passive about the safety of others. However, if this happened to someone close to you, there must surely be a sense of urgency to look for that child. It is time for us as a society to look out for each other as if we are a large family. People should be more sympathetic and empathetic, showing concern which may result in a crime to be avoided, saving a life and a family from misfortune and heartache.

In this piece, what is the conceivable long-term action that should be taken by the Malaysia government and the Royal Malaysian Police to ensure better security in Malaysia, which is the foremost priority to minimize the rate of kidnapping? To begin with, government should strive to make Malaysia a safer place as well as have the political reform to promote peace in the country and improve the entire police organization nationally.

In the past, the Royal Malaysian Police showed the typical apathy and carelessness in their responsibilities which has led the public to question the usefulness of public services and wonder if those employed are just looking for an easy job. Time is gold, a short delay of investigations would be detrimental to the case and in some situations, it is the difference between life and death. As trained professionals, the police should have known the manner in which they should conduct their investigations. Perhaps, a stricter operational policing should be implemented to ensure the national security. Malaysian police force is also low on members and additional measures should be taken to increase numbers as to boost efficiency.

In addition, with an aim to reduce the rate of parental kidnapping, the government should consider signing the aforementioned convention or perhaps introduce a bill regarding to this issue.

To conclude, generally, Malaysia is still a safe place for all. However, there is no harm of practicing common sense and precautions to prevent kidnapping. Although the government has taken significant steps to overcome this issue, there is still room for more improvement. The public also plays a large preventative role in this and further exposure of this subject will benefit all.

With this written assignment, collectively as a group, we have realized the severity of kidnapping in Malaysia. It is easy to look at the news and be desensitized but when in fact, it could happen to anyone and it only takes a split second for a beloved family member to be taken away. It made us sympathize with the victims of this crime and cherish the safety we often take for granted. We hope that this issue receives more coverage and that the children that are currently missing may be safely reunited with their families.