Towards Lesser Crime In JB (14)

Rape (3)

A 24-year-old single mother was in a car with her boyfriend when a man armed with a knife opened the car door at a traffic light junction at about 2.25am on Monday, May 16.

The man then pointed the knife at the boyfriend and ordered him to drive the car to a house in Teluk Jawa, Pasir Gudang, while an accomplice followed on a motorcycle.
Upon arriving at a house there, the suspects tied the boyfriend before raping the woman.
They also robbed them of cash and their mobile phones.

Upon tip-off, police arrested both suspects at a house along Jalan Bayan in Seri Alam, within nine hours after the rape in a new housing project in Teluk Jawa.
One of them, aged 25, has eight previous records for burglary, theft and assault.

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Jailed – Drunk Labourer Who Raped Woman 
By FARIK ZOLKEPLI 

JOHOR BARU: A 32-year-old labourer who admitted that he was drunk when he raped a woman on Aug 5 was sentenced to 10 years’ jail and seven strokes of the rotan.
K. Paramasivan pleaded guilty to raping the 24-year-old woman at a booth in JP Perdana at about 8pm.

Sex fiend: Paramasivan being led away after he was jailed for rape.
 

The facts of the case stated that he had earlier abducted the victim and taken her to the booth.
He punched and slapped the victim repeatedly in the face and other parts of her body before raping her.
However, a police patrol unit managed to rescue the victim and arrest him following a scuffle.
In mitigation, Paramasivan said he had a family to support.
“I was drunk and I deeply regret my actions,” he said.
DPP Jasmee Hameeza Jaafat asked Sessions Court judge Salawati Djam­bari to mete the maximum sentence due to the seriousness of the offence and the victim’s injuries.
“The accused also has previous convictions for robberies as well as rape,” he said.
Meanwhile, Paramasivan was also charged with stealing the victim’s two mobile phones and a gold necklace while causing hurt.
That case has been fixed for mention on Sept 17.

Source: The Star - Wednesday, August 18, 2010

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Are We Too Lenient With Rapists At Times?

THE Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law defines RAPE as ‘unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception — see also STATUTORY RAPE.’Note: The common-law crime of rape involved a man having carnal knowledge of a woman not his wife through force and against her will.
Even without referring to the dictionary, we all know what rape is about. But do we really know or understand what rape victims have to go through? The reality is that unless we are the victims or one of our loved ones is unfortunate enough to fall prey to such a violent act, we will not be able to comprehend the horror and trauma of rape. Victims are scarred for life.
I was reading an article about the anti-rape legislation and that induced me to look up the dictionary for the finer definition of this heinous crime.
It’s interesting to learn that by and large, we seem to be sending the wrong signals about rape, beginning with the laws that let off too easily those who commit such a crime to an attitude that it is all right for men to be aggressive while women must suffer in silence.
Women’s groups in the country have claimed that rape is one issue this country has not dealt with properly and I agree with them.
A report this week in a national daily struck me. In December 2008, a man who raped his eight-year-old daughter was sentenced by the Sessions Court in Muar, to 25 years jail and 15 strokes of the rotan. This sentence was later affirmed by the High Court.
Yet last Monday (March 22), the Court of Appeal commuted the convicted felon’s punishment by six years jail and five strokes of the rotan. Several questions come to mind with this new judgement.
Why was this evil perpetrator’s sentence reduced? Who thought his sentence was too harsh? But what about the life sentence on the little girl? Have the judges contemplated this at all? Who knows the anguish and who can measure the mental and physical scars that will torment the poor girl for the rest of her life?
The layman in us will not be able to understand what was in the minds of the judges when they shortened the sentence on appeal. Have they not seen the mixed messages coming out of this? It sets a poor example and a precedent for the disturbed and evil men who feel they can violate and abuse the rights of children who are too young to defend themselves.
With a clearer picture and understanding of the issue at hand, I think we must all give our undivided support to women’s groups who have espoused legislative changes and greater justice for rape victims.
The All Women’s Action Society (Awam) has been asking for the abolition of the stipulation on corroborative evidence such as physical injuries in rape cases for a long time. It also wants compensation for rape survivors.
Awam and other women’s groups say whatever is lacking in the law is but a reflection of the flawed societal attitudes regarding rape, its perpetrators and their victims. So far, such legislation has been long wanting.
According to Awam, it appears that there is high tolerance for men who go around bragging about their sexual prowess, which they equate with being ‘real men’.
“Masculinity allows aggression, which leads to rape. There is a thin line between the two,’’ the society adds.
Women’s Aid Organisation executive director Ivy Josiah has also been quoted as saying that ‘in cases of violence against women, be it in the form of rape, physical abuse or sexual harassment, women are told to be silent’.
But Josiah says this does not stop people from looking with contempt at a woman who has been raped ‘’because losing her virginity carries a social stigma’’. These double standards largely explain the prevailing insensitivity of even authorities and health workers toward rape victims.
It must be made clear to all that rape cases have been on the rise in the country and the crime has reached a stage where it has frighteningly become just an everyday, common affair.
Sarawak is also not spared of this ‘scourge’. Police statistics show that the number of statutory rape cases in the state has been on the increase. The police report is too lengthy to go into this column but suffice to say, the statistics are alarming. The reported cases run in several thousands for the whole country.
Some cases can be real violent too and victims were even murdered. There was a recent report of a woman being gang-raped and then set on fire. Then, a 15-year-old ethnic Indian student was raped and murdered, prompting a bitter public outcry. A woman and her daughter were also raped by her 41-year-old son-in-law and a Dutch tourist was gang-raped at a rubber estate. These cases took place in Kuala Lumpur.
Then in Kuching, remember the 14-year-old schoolgirl who was raped at the overhead bridge in Petra Jaya on a busy afternoon in May 2009? In the same week, a 12-year-old girl was taken from her school to a jungle in Samariang and raped. And surely, we have not forgotten the long running saga of the rape of Penan girls.
These are only the reported cases. What about those which were unreported, either for reasons of shame or sheer ignorance?
And part of the reason for under-reporting lies in legislation. Malaysian legal advocates have long had problems with the laws pertaining to rapists and other sexual offenders. They point out that the sentences meted out to those found guilty are too light.
Also, there is the question of definition. Under Malaysian law, rape occurs only when a man forcefully penetrates a woman’s sexual organ with his penis. Using another object such as bottle or a stick, therefore, does not constitute rape.
Yes, the dictionary clearly defines rape — it is torture at its worst! It is such a horrifying, heinous crime and it is high time that we have new legislation that truly punish perpetrators with the same degree of human suffering that they have inflicted on their victims.
No, this is not vengeance. This is justice!

Source: The Borneo Post - Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Maid - Unholy Acts In The Holiest Place (3)

Serial Killing: Victims’ Bodies Lay Unclaimed
YANBU: The bodies of two Asian housemaids who were raped and murdered by a serial killer three years ago are still at a hospital morgue in Yanbu while the authorities await the consent of their relatives to bury them.

The body of a third housemaid, who was also raped and murdered by the same man, was buried some time ago.
Yanbu police arrested the man, who is of African origin, last September following his son’s arrest.
The man has admitted to the rape and murder of the three women over the last four years. The Prosecution and Investigation Commission is currently completing paperwork to begin court proceedings against the man.
Al-Madinah newspaper reported on Saturday quoting Dr. Abdul Rahman Saeedi, director of the Health Affairs Department in Yanbu, that one of the three bodies was buried and the remaining two bodies were still at a morgue.
“We have yet to receive any letter from the concerned authorities with regard to consent from their relatives to bury them,” Saeedi said.
Ibrahim Al-Abadi, a prominent lawyer and former head of investigations at the Prosecution and Investigation Commission, said keeping dead bodies at morgues indefinitely is a violation of rules.
“With regard to unidentified bodies, forensic experts should carry out post-mortems to determine the actual causes of death. Bodies should be photographed and fingerprints should be taken, in addition to DNA samples. All these procedures should be completed within a period of two months,” he said.
“Then the body should be buried once clearance is received from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health. If a relative claims the body or identifies it through the data the authorities have then they are entitled to exhume the mortal remains,” the lawyer said.
According to Al-Abadi, the murderer, called Auda Ahmad, should be handed the death penalty.
Ahmad has confessed to kidnapping runaway housemaids to avoid being detected. He would then torture the women, rape them and dump their bodies in desert areas after disfiguring them.
Yanbu police had been searching for the man for around four years before finally arresting him on the basis of information received from his son who was arrested for begging.
Ahmad was arrested on Sept. 1, 2010, while attempting to lure another housemaid who would have been his fourth victim.
The bodies of the three maids were so badly disfigured that police were unable to identify them. One of the bodies was found buried on Yanbu Corniche in a plastic bag. The body of another had been found with stab wounds and acid scalds over her face.
The third body was found already decomposing in a remote area close to a rest house near the town of Umluj.
Police found the serial killer with several forged ID cards and pictures of housemaids on his mobile phone, including a photograph of one of the three women.
None of the women’s relatives or sponsors have so far come forward to claim their bodies.

Source: Arab News - Saturday, January 22, 2011

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The attorney general has presented the file to the court and will seek the death penalty for 45-year old Owdhah Ahmad.
The man should be beheaded under Shariah if the charges that he had allegedly killed, raped and burned the bodies of the three women are proven.
The case is expected to be looked at by a panel of three judges.

The arrest came after a four-year manhunt involving officers from Madinah and Yanbu.
Police investigators had detained and interrogated a number of suspects.

After a four-year search, security services arrested the thug who confessed the torture of three Indonesian maids, maiming the bodies, mutilating and burnt them after sex to rid evidence.

The bodies of the victims were then dump in remote areas, in different locations in the city.

After months of relationship started in Cornish, the culprit claimed his first victim on Sept. 20, 2007 (Ramadhan 8, 1428H).

He helped the victim escaped from her employer and heavy workload, after promising the maid of getting her transferred to another household with attractive salary.

He hit the victim on the head, and burnt her.

The remain was placed on dirty road among palm trees and with strewn stems in an uninhabited area.

Yanbu police found the badly mutilated maid's body in an area in Al-Nakheel Road in 2007 close to a rest house. 

Authorities were unable to determine the deceased identity.

The second prey was found in Yanbu Corniche.

The killer succeeded in luring and taking her to a remote area before raping her.

He then struck her head with a big rock, killing her instantly.

He committed his second murder on June 26, 2008 (Jumadil Akhir 22, 1429).

The victim's head was shaved.

After mutilating her body, she was put into a bag and buried under the sand at the beach. 

Foul smell led the discovery of the disintegrated body by a group of children playing at the beach near Corniche of Yanbu Industrial City.

The picture released by the Yanbu police shows officials moving the body of Owdhah Ahmad’s third victim, who was killed on Aug. 10, 2009. (AN photo)

He noticed his third victim in the market nearby his home. 

While she was walking along the roadside in Yanbu, he followed her in his car until they reached a secluded area. 

He approached her and revealed his desire to have sex with her. 

She refused and tried to run away, but she was caught and stabbed her several times that left blood splattered around. 

He raped her as she was dying, poured acid on her body to disfigure it. 

She was burnt and left it on the road to die on August 10, 2009 (Shaaban 19, 1430).  

The body was later buried in a remote area along Al-Shimal Road near Amlaj town.

He told the police that he was picking housemaids, especially those who are not known to others and he had already identified his fourth target as she has similar specifications.

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The killer was detected by accident.
The nabbing of a network of beggars helped uncover the serial killer's crimes.

A private driver guided the police to the beggary network.

When his son, Marzouq, was arrested for begging, he disclosed of his father not a normal person as he used to beat and torture him and his brothers, and forced them to beg.
The father would burn him with fire.
The suspect allegedly deformed his own children by burning them with fire to make them beggars.

In another statement, his wife had earlier submitted an official complaint that her husband had forced her to beg.

The police started monitoring the man after Marzouq told them that he saw his father brought Asian nationality women to their house, even in the presence of his mother.
And, he even saw his father stabbing an Indonesian housemaid to death on the street.
Marzouq admitted to investigators that he saw the maid run from their old house at Al-Ossaili District in Yanbu after she and his father had an argument.
The woman ran toward Al-Nami Souq and his father, brandishing a knife, chased her, caught her, stabbed her to death.

Police searched the house and among his possessions, police found many forged identities and false identity papers.
In memory cards of the serial killer's mobile phones are pictures of maids, including one of his victims.
The discovery opened the door that leads to past unresolved issues.

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Owdhah Ahmad was arrested on the first days of Eidul Fitr in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.
The man is now being held on charges of murdering three foreign housemaids.
He hunted his victims at local markets and was caught red-handed on September 1, while allegedly attempting to lure another housemaid who would have become his fourth victim.
He was seen luring the housemaid at a commercial market in Yanbu.

He allegedly tried to mislead police by claiming he was trying to recruit the maid to work for him during Ramadhan.
But the woman told police that Owdhah was persuading her to flee from her sponsor's house and have illicit relations with him.
He would always sit in markets to attract victims.

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Owdhah Ahmad had confessed in September while in detention in Al-Balad Police Station in Yanbu, before a panel of judges in Yanbu reenacting of his alleged sexual assault, disfigurement and murder of three Indonesian housemaids in 2007 and 2008 at locations where the incidents took place.

He admitted the rape, and murder before mutilating the housemaids' bodies and burying them.

The man is being held in the general prison after he was examined at Yanbu General Hospital for the state of his mental health.
Preliminary investigations show that the serial killer falsely claimed that he killed a fourth housemaid in July and hid her body in a flood culvert near Yanbu Al-Nakhl but authorities did not find a body there, which led them to believe the mans story about the fourth murder was not true.

But a day later, he denied murdering the maids when brought before a court in Yanbu to authenticate his confession.
Court sources played down the retraction, saying they had enough evidence to convict the man without a confession.

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The killer used to pick housemaids without any legal identification as his victims to avoid detection.
He would subjected them to torture, burns and rape before killing them.
He disfigured the victims and hide them.

Investigators believe that the accused was mentally ill. He might be suffering from psychological disorders, especially as sex and torture were the common denominators in all of his crimes.
The court will take this into consideration during the trial if he is found to be mentally sick.
But psychiatrists are certain that he knew what he was doing when he allegedly committed his crimes.

A relative of the killer said the man was under stress because his wife was mentally ill, the citizenship of his father and uncle had been withdrawn, and one of his children had run away from home.

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Son Can't Kill A Chicken Says Father Of Suspect In Yanbu Serial Killings

The father of the man suspected of being the Yanbu serial killer defended his son and said, “I can’t believe that my son has slaughtered three people because he can’t kill a chicken.”

The father described his son as alert, but a little bit unstable and described him and his grandson, Marzouq, as troublemakers.

“Thy both love to save pictures of any thing on their mobiles,” he said.

He, however, expressed sympathy for to the slaughtered housemaids and said authorities should investigate the crimes and issue a sentence against his son if he was really convicted of committing them. 

“If the investigations prove he is guilty, he deserves to be punished,” the suspect’s father said.

The father said he lived in Khamis Mushayt, southwest of the Kingdom, before moving to Yanbu and had two wives, Umm Owdhah, the suspect’s mother, and a second wife. The man said his Saudi nationality was withdrawn 20 years ago.

He said had traded in goats he brought from Sabya in the Jizan region, but a pelvis fracture forced him to leave the job so he asked his wives to beg for money. He said he would only send his sons out to do so when there was an urgent need to pay for rent and other necessities.

Okaz/Saudi Gazette also interviewed Ahmad Hassan, the Saudi uncle of the suspected serial killer, who was found in the district looking for Marzouq, the suspect’s son. Hassan said he was looking for Marzouq because he is sponsoring him and his brothers.

Okaz/Saudi Gazette joined Hassan in his search, but he did not find any trace of Marzouq. He thought that the landlord kicked the family out of their apartment after he had learned of the crimes their father is suspected of committing.

When the suspect’s wife was contacted, she said she had lied about her husband as having no relatives because she wanted to protect them because many of them were illegal residents. She said this would also explain her commitment to her husband.

“I have no place to go to with my children,” she said.

Her brother said they cannot stay with him.

“We are living in a very miserable condition so we can’t receive my sister and her children,” he said. “I have 10 children of my own, my wife, my sister and her six children.”

The suspect’s wife said his second son, Ahmad, 10, disappeared because of his father’s cruelty and abuse. She said he was last seen during Ramadan, playing in the street with children. Zare’ Bin Awwad Al-Sayyid, district chief of Al-Balad District, where the suspect worked in a shop, said there was nothing strange in the suspect’s behavior that drew his attention and there were no complaints from businesses that had employed the man.

Al-Sayyid has praised the Al-Balad Police, especially its Criminal Research Department, for dismantling a network that forged national identities, which led to finding the man suspected of killing the three foreign housemaids. – Okaz/SG __

Source: Saudi Gazette - September 18, 2011

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Despite the difficult living conditions being experienced by the suspected serial killer’s brother-in-law, Ahmad Hassan offered his house to his sister and her six children after their landlord expelled them from their home. The woman and her children had been homeless for days.
The brother said he would ask the charitable society in Yanbu to secure an appropriate house for his sister and her children and urged authorities to help them, regardless of her husband’s case.
The suspected serial killer’s second son, Ahmad, is still missing. There have been reports in the last few days that he was seen roaming on the streets near Al-Shawam Market in Yanbu.
Other reports indicate that Ahmad is staying with relatives in Makkah who have reformed his attitude and convinced him to stop stealing.
Meanwhile, an official from the committee that sponsors prisoners, ex-convicts and their families told Arab News that the committee would consider extending financial support to Ahmad’s wife and children if he is convicted. Circumstances of the family will be looked into for care and support providence, after a final verdict is passed. All needy inmates and ex-prisoners and their families are to be extended with support, regardless of their nationalities, nor the nature of their crimes, under the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques

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Owdhah Ahmad was released from a Yanbu prison in 2007 after serving a jail term for harassment and acid attacks on his sons.
The man, who has four sons and two daughters, had been selling fruit and vegetables for a living.

The 45-year old Yemeni national has been living in Yanbu illegally for several years.

Meanwhile, Madinah police had arrested six relatives of the alleged Yanbu housemaids’ serial killer, who were allegedly involved in forging identity cards and impersonating Saudi nationals.
Those being held are said to be of Arab origin.
All documents of the arrested persons have been seized and their involvement in the killing of the housemaids are yet to be proven.