Abused chilldren : Cause for concern

Nurin, Ying Ying, Preeshena, Jun Wei

By THO XIN YI

CHILDREN are a joy to most adults. To the parents in particular, they are precious little beings that give them hope when things are not going right, a reason to go on when all else seems hopelessly lost. They are just about everything to so many people everywhere.

Ooi Ying Ying
On July 8, police found some of this child's charred remains at a cemetery in Paya Terubong, Penang. On July 20, Ying Ying's mother Jess Teh was charged with lodging a false missing person's report, while her boyfriend Ong Chee Leong was charged with murdering Ying Ying on July 5.

Yet, the irony is that cases of abuse against minors are rampant. And, the sad truth is that the sadistic acts have become ever more violent and mind-boggling in recent years.

Take, for example, the stories of Shearwey Ooi Ying Ying, Nurin Jazlin Jazimin and Preeshena Varshiny. The manner in which they met their end is still fresh in the minds of most Malaysians.

Lau Jun Wei

A doctor in Taman University, Johor Baru, discovered that three-year-old Lau Jun Wei had injuries on the back of his head, bruises and branding marks all over his body as well as injuries to his genitals and rectum, when Jun Wei's lifeless body was brought to her in October last year. His mother Tan Chew Yan, 22, and her boyfriend, Lu Song Seng, 21, were charged in the Sessions Court later with causing his death.

Ying Ying, for instance, was murdered and her body, burnt. As if this was not enough, Ying Ying's bone fragments were then strewn in at least four different parts of Penang.

Nurin's case made the headlines when she was abducted from a night market near her home in Wangsa Maju. She was found a month later – her lifeless body stuffed in a sports bag.

While the nation was still reeling from Nurin's senseless death, another young girl was raped and sodomised in Selayang. Her torture did not stop there. Preeshena was then thrown down from the balcony of the condominium.

Nurin Jazlin Jazimin

Nurin Jazlin Jazimin went missing on Aug 20 and her naked body was found stuffed in a sports bag near a shoplot in Petaling Utama on Sept 20.

To these children, death came early. Others, however, go through life as if in a daze, living out their ordeal day and night in welfare centres far from home.
Why do such acts occur, one wonders. And, why do they have to be kids who can do no wrong to others?

“Children become victims of abuse because they are easy targets,'' said Malaysian Mental Health Association management committee member Dr Joseph Jacob.

“They are defenceless, especially when left alone.”

DSP Choo Lily, the officer-in-charge of D11 (Rape, Sexual and Child Abuse Cases Investigation Unit) was quite frank when she pointed out: “The public needs to be aware that the society is no longer as safe as we assume it to be.” As such, she urged adults to be even more cautious over their young charges.

It is time we stopped reading and merely talking about child abuse endlessly.

It is time we helped the victims move on in life.

It may be too late to help those who have died, but we can do something for those who have survived their ordeal.

They need to seek help fast

ADULTS who inflict pain on children need help.

“They need to identify what their problems are,” said Malaysian Mental Health Association management committee member Dr Joseph Jacob.

He said such adults abused children for a number of reasons. “One possibility is that they release the anger, depression or anxiety they face in life on defenceless human beings,” he added.

Dr Joseph said they would not take on their peers or superiors. “It's easier to channel one's emotions on children.” He suggested that if one had the tendency to harm children, they ought to seek professional help, fast.

“By identifying their underlying problems, we could help treat their problems such as depression, then help them make changes,” said the clinical psychiatrist. “More often than not, they themselves have been victims of abuse as children.''

The abused youngsters need help, too, he said. “The impact caused by abuse cannot be underestimated,” he added.

“The children may not remember or understand what had happened to them,” said Dr Joseph. “But the hidden memories may create other problems in their lives later.”

- Star Online