Cops say Penan rape cases foiled by lack of evidence

(The Malaysian Insider) KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — The police said today that investigations into the alleged of Penan girls and women in rural Sarawak had been hampered by a lack of cooperation from witnesses and victims.

Federal CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin said today that a special task force had been formed in January this year and had visited nine Penan settlements in Sarawak to interview witnesses.

“The task force faced numerous obstacles and hurdles investigating these cases, especially non cooperation by the alleged victims and witnesses,” he said in a media statement today.

Mohd Bakri was commenting on a report in The Star newspaper today which quoted a report by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry as confirming the consistent pattern of rape and sexual abuse by timer company workers on Penan women.

The report documented at least eight cases of rape and molest.

It was noted in the report that Penan girls and women had been raped or abused when hitching rides on timber company trucks or at logging camps near their homes.

Penan girls are particularly vulnerable to attacks as many of them depend on timber trucks for transport to school, the report said.

Mohd Bakri said today that the police had not received a copy of the report.

He pointed out, however, that a police officer had been a member of a special committee that visited five Penan settlements in 2008. The report is a result of that trip.

But he noted that the police could only recommend prosecution when there was sufficient evidence.

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