KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 ― Datuk Shabudin Yahya today clarified that he was referring to consensual sex involving minors with his controversial suggestion for rapists to marry their victims.
The Tasik Gelugor MP denied he was referring to violent rape while debating the Child Sexual Offences Bill 2017 yesterday, following uproar over his suggestion.
He insisted that such crimes should be dealt with according to existing laws such as the Penal Code, and rejected reports that he was condoning such rapes.
“But in society’s reality, there are many cases of rape that are classified by law as ‘statutory rape’ but based on common consent.
“To resolve such problems, families often cover up the shame, do not make police reports and eventually make the decision to marry them,” he said in a statement on the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers site. Read more