How much longer are we going to tolerate sexual predators?

THE recent capture of a 39 year old local man, Khairul Hj Dagang, by officers from the Jerudong Police District and the Royal Brunei Police Force's Forest Rangers, who had escaped their custody after raping several women in the Bengkurong/Masin area, sent shockwaves through that immediate community for the fear that the escaped fugitive had put them through.

Despite the persistent tenacity and quick coordination of the RBPF, his capture had already sadly left ugly scars permanently etched on the souls of the victims.

The question that many of us asked ourselves, not just those living in the area, but nationwide, was what can be done to make our women more secure?

Shouldn't we be doing more to protect women against these sexual predators? And shouldn't it now be timely to introduce sterner measures to deter these predatory attacks in the future?

The Department of Community Development, of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (Japem) has stated that they have been recording an increase in the number of sexual abuse cases over the years with crimes such as rape, incest, sodomy as well as women and children abuses.

As a result, by way of spreading awareness and educational tips to the public, they have been conducting roadshows by primarily targeting educational institutions as a means to protect our younger girls from these abuses.

Datin Hjh Adina Hj Othman, the Director of Japem, explained that from the department's experience, some of the abuse victims were not fully aware of their ordeal, especially in cases of incest.

Whilst we empathise with the victims of rape and incest, shouldn't we lend more support to better educate the public, and at the same time, make it very clear to would-be perpetrators that this country, which prides itself on being law-abiding and devout to the teachings of Islam, must now mete out sterner punishment for these unforgivable crimes of passion.

We still hold firm to our traditional culture and values, that remain strong after six hundred years, whilst most of the developed countries shun theirs due to the perception that it is an impediment to economic development.

So how is it, that in most of these advanced countries, rapists, paedophiles and women and children abusers are the ones who face the most risk from fellow prisoners during their incarceration.

This just goes to show that despite their cultural nihilism, their ethical values, even those in prison, loathe and detest predators who prey on the weak and the young.

But it seems that here in Brunei, judging from media reports that have been made on cases of incest and rape offenders, the punishment that they receive does not exact the satisfactory measure of justice for the crimes committed.

We still hear of fathers, brothers, uncles, and even grandfathers preying on their innocent young.

In fact, from the media's point of view, the cases are kept so silent, that one begins to wonder whether the authorities are trying to keep quiet about it. And for what? Why? For casting our society in a negative light? Sweeping it under the rug is doing more actual harm than good.

Japem has been doing a tremendously laudable job by carrying out these informative roadshows as well as setting up an abuse hotline, 141. The RBPF too, for that matter, in apprehending the serial rapist. But shouldn't our justice system take a long hard look at our society and finally decide that enough is enough and send this clear message out soon that we will not tolerate these kinds of crimes any more?

Remember that when we choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil. And we owe it to all the victims of sexual crimes as we remember this.

For the victims that were violated by the Bengkurong/Masin serial rapist, as well as the many innocent others before them, not to mention the undeserving victims of incest, despite the generosity and support that family and government have poured out towards their rehabilitation back to some semblance of normalcy, the reality is, that until society enforces a stronger punishment against the offenders for stealing away their priceless innocence, their modesty, their dignity and their self-respect, no amount of encouragement or support will ever be enough to coax back forgiveness from their family members or self-healing from the victims themselves.The Brunei Times