Britain will work with Malaysia for child protection

A British High Commission spokesman said the United Kingdom (UK) took an extremely serious view of paedophilia and offences against children.

"Where British nationals commit such offences, anywhere in the world, we will work to bring offenders to justice and ensure victims get the right protection and treatment. International cooperation is critical for that.

"Our engagement with the Malaysian authorities on the Richard Huckle case, since 2014, reflects that. Criminals know no borders," the spokesman told Bernama in a statement here Monday.

British paedophile Huckle was sentenced to life in prison by a London court on Monday, for abusing 23 Malaysian and Cambodian babies and children over almost a decade.

Reuters reported that Huckle, 30, was given 22 life sentences and would serve at least 23 years behind bars for his crimes against impoverished victims aged six months to 11 years.

Huckle had pleaded guilty to 71 offences and was found with over 20,000 indecent images of children on his computer and camera when he was arrested at Gatwick Airport in 2014.

Meanwhile, James Traynor, from the UK's National Crime Agency's (NCA) Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command, said the NCA worked to track down Huckle and end his prolific abuse, using the Section 72 legislation.

The Section allows UK nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for offences committed overseas.

"Richard Huckle spent several years integrating himself into the community in which he lived, making himself a trusted figure...but he abused that trust in the worst possible way.

"He deliberately travelled to a part of the world where he thought he could abuse vulnerable children without being caught...Borders are no barrier-we are determined that those who go abroad to abuse children will be held to account," said Traynor.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) leads UK law enforcement's fight to cut serious and organised crime.

The agency has national and international reach and the mandate and powers to work in partnership with other law enforcement organisations to bring the full weight of the law to bear in cutting serious and organised crime.

The British media reported recently that Huckle, 30, a freelance photographer might have abused up to 200 children aged between six months and 12 years, from 2006 to 2014.

A total of 91 charges had been levelled against him and the victims were mostly from poor communities in Kuala Lumpur.