Kuala Lumpur - Sex offenders who prey on children will soon be forced to wear electronic chips and tags upon release from prison in a move that Malaysian authorities hope will curb violent sexual attacks on young children, a news report said Friday. The chips would contain the details and past offences of the former convicts, in order for police to monitor former sexual predators more closely, said Women's Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
"Some of them are serial rapists. This system will make it easier for police to watch or monitor the suspect if there are any crimes," Shahrizat was quoted as saying by the Malay-language Berita Harian daily.
"We don't want the suspect to get out of jail and then be free to go anywhere and strike again. This is to protect the safety of children. ... We want Malaysia to be a safe country for children."
The country was shocked at the case of a young girl who was sexually abused, killed and stuffed into a travel bag. Her body was found outside a shop Monday in the central Petaling Jaya district.
A whole cucumber and brinjal had been forced into the victim's vagina after she had been raped by the killer, and a post mortem found that she had died from internal bleeding from her severe injuries.
Following DNA tests, police said that the victim was an 8-year-old reported missing more than a month ago.
The missing girl's parents have denied that the dead girl was their daughter, and police will seek to conduct another DNA test to confirm her identity.
As details of the slaying fill local dailies, the public has voiced anger and fear over the seemingly increasing violent sexual crimes against young children.
"Our government is very aware of this. We are concerned over these cases and will take whatever steps necessary to try and overcome this," said Shahrizat.
She urged parents to keep a closer watch on their children and warned that negligent parents could face jail terms if found to have forsaken their children.
