On 12 August, a netizen named Anis took to Twitter to share a shocking incident of how her family member studying at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) was almost raped. She had also claimed that the university management was trying to cover up the issue.
The incident happened on 15 July 2018 and a trial is already ongoing.
She wrote,
“One of my family members was beaten up and almost got raped in her hostel in UMS last month. The accused is a security personnel who was supposed to guard the female hostel.”
“Do you know how traumatised she was? She couldn’t sit in a dark place (alone) and she had bloodshot eyes after getting punched. Her wrists had marks from being tied up. She was strangled so hard that she almost died!”
It was understood that the victim’s clothes were stripped off and she was punched, slapped, strangled, and molested. The poor girl was only saved from being raped after the 26-year-old suspect from the Security Division discovered that she was on her period. The victim’s handphone, ATM card(s), and cash were also taken by the culprit.
Following the incident, a police report was made and apparently, Anis claimed that certain parties tried to cover up the issue as the accused is related to one of the chancellors. That’s why Anis took things to Twitter so that the authorities and members of the public would pay attention to this case.
After the incident blew up on social media, netizens, especially students of UMS, became very vocal about this issue on Facebook as they wanted to prevent the case from being closed. Some even organised prayers for the victim.
Responding to the viral post, UMS had issued a statement stressing how they don’t tolerate any criminal activity and that they were doing their best to help the victim psychologically and academically. The suspect has also been removed from the institution while the trial is ongoing.
The accused is charged under Section 376 and 511 of the Penal Code, to which he pleaded not guilty. The bail was set at RM5,000 with one guarantee and the trial will resume on 29 August. It was also reported that the victim is no longer in Kota Kinabalu anymore.
Our thoughts and prayers go to the victim and hopefully, she can learn to deal with her trauma.
Also read: Uni Student Raped and Robbed at Knifepoint While Walking Home From Pasar Malam