Expert report delaying child sexual cases - IGP

Delays in sexual cases against children were due to expert reports, says Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

He said police have their own standard operating procedure (SOP) for each case to be settled in three months.

"But the problem arose when we could not meet the deadline due to reports we need from experts. These reports take time as the experts sometimes need to send samples overseas and need to conduct several other procedures before they could issue the report.

"So this is the cause of delay. So in many cases involving children we really want to settle them fast," he told reporters after a breaking of fast at Nurul Iman Mosque in Kampung Gebok, Mantin near here on Friday.

Also present were Bukit Aman CID director Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh and Negeri Sembilan police chief Datuk Jaafar Mohd Yusof.

He was asked to comment on a statement of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday when opening the special criminal court on sex crimes against children at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya for sexual cases against children to be resolved as quick as possible, within a year compared to such cases extending over several years now.

Khalid said Bukit Aman CID director himself had issued the order to review the SOP of such cases involving children so that they could be expedited further from the usual duration.

"I also agree with the Prime Minister in the call to expedite cases involving children," he said.

Commenting further, he said police have an expert unit in settling cases involving children.

"We have D11 and it specialises in looking at issues involving children. They have a Child Care Centre in which we could use to record the conversations of children...using the latest methods such as dolls and so on.

"Please understand getting information from children is not easy. We need to have the expertise and certain gadgets to obtain information from children.

"So my officers are trained from psychological aspects on how to manage a child witness or victim,'''' he said.

-- BERNAMA