After two months of being held under remand, the prosecutor has finally charged them in court, and the list of what they have been accused of is a long one.
Both of them are accused of a total of eight counts of gross violation of integrity of their children, and all includes beatings, inclusive of the use of rotan, belt and even a carpet beater.
The shock is because everyone in Malaysia were of the thought that it was an obvious case of a clash of cultures.
In Malaysia, moderate corporal punishment is mainly accepted. Initial reports in the media (including here at Astro AWANI) stated or implied that the abuse was merely a smack due to one of their sons not performing his prayers.
People were so vocal about demanding their release by the Swedish authorities, and many were outraged that their children were taken away from them and placed in a Swedish foster home.
When Deputy Foreign Minister, Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin, succeeded in getting the children under the care of a Malaysian family, and eventually bringing them home, the whole of Malaysia cheered. I'm quite sure that nationalism also played a big part in people's faith in them and the support they received from home - they're Malaysians, let's rally behind them!
But, as I had previously mentioned, the tune of many Malaysians have changed to a different rhythm now that an official charge list has been issued in court.
Now, people are so angry of the fact that the couple could actually turn out to be parents who did, in fact, physically abuse their children, although they are innocent until proven guilty.
Yes, Astro AWANI has, through comprehensive research, uncovered legit cases where children in Sweden have been wrongfully seperated from their parents. And yes, we have also discovered true reports presented by human rights lawyers to the European Parliament about how rampant these cases are in Sweden and other Nordic countries.
However, seeing an actual court document listing the actual charges is still overwhelming. I, for one, am shocked myself to read it. When I met the couple's four children at the Malaysian embassy in Stockholm, I sympathised with them and felt sorry that they had been seperated from their parents.
I somehow became a little too attached to them that when I initially read the charge list issued by the Solna District Court, I felt guilty in wanting to report the actual details to the public.
But I understood that I had to be objective in this matter. The trial will go on and the prosecutor and the defence counsels will go all out to prove their cases. The media will continue to report the proceedings since it has already become a matter of public interest, not just in Malaysia, but also in Sweden itself.
The media will also attempt to put things into more context, such as looking at past cases and, yes, even looking at the history of the abuse of the social welfare system in Sweden.
But, I believe that remaining objective about the case has to be a priority. Don't be too quick to judge, whether to support the couple or to condemn them, before knowing the entire true story.
At the end of the day, Malaysians or not, justice has to prevail.
And us, being the court of public opinion, really do not have the credibility to do anything but observe and have our own personal opinions.
