On 15 November, seven 17-year-old schoolboys had been remanded because they’ve been accused of rape. A 14-year-old girl from the same school reported that she was raped by the boys in a switch room at school, and a teacher found her crying and stripped half-nude after the act. She claimed that two of the boys raped her, while the other four forced her to perform oral sex on them. The seventh boy stood and watched.
The victim’s 40-year-old mother lodged a police report at 3:30 pm on 15 November (the day when the victim was raped), and the police chief of Tawau district, Peter Umbuas confirmed that there was indeed a rape case that occurred in a secondary school on Friday. Therefore, the seven boys were detained and set to be remanded for three days.
The Form Two girl was then sent to the district hospital for a medical check-up, as reported on The Star.
Since today is the third day of the remand, an update was released by the police, announcing that the seven suspects have been allowed bail because “the case has been solved” and they are apprehended. The police decided not to extend their three-day remand, and they would resume collecting evidence for this case before proceeding with charges in court.
These boys were also allowed to sit for their SPM papers which will be ending on 28 November.
Upon reading the update, netizens were not happy about it. They questioned the need for the boys to take the SPM exams and left comments expressing their concerns for the victim.
Can’t imagine how the Form Two girl would’ve felt about the update. We feel so sorry about what she had to go through, and we really hope that she would be able to heal from this terrible encounter.
Also read: M’sian Juvenile Rape Cases Are On The Rise And It’s A Reflection Of Our Sex Education Syllabus