Alleged paedophile arrested in 'first sexual grooming case in Malaysia'

PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The father of one of the underage girls targeted by an alleged paedophile is glad the suspect is now in custody.

The victim's father told The Star that police arrested the man at about 1am on Monday (Nov 12).

Three reports have been lodged against the man so far, with more victims expected to come forward.

"This is the first sexual grooming case in Malaysia," the victim's father said. "It's only the beginning, there is a long way to go."

"Now I pray the authorities will do their job and send him to prison," he added.

Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Fadzil Ahmat, when contacted, confirmed the arrest.

"Yes, the suspect was arrested at his house," he said.

The 36-year-old man had allegedly been sexually grooming underage girls he met via charity groups and churches he volunteered at.

Last Thursday, The Star broke the story about the alleged paedophile who had been preying on young girls via Facebook for the last 10 years.

More than 15 of them have stepped forward to recount their encounters with the man since his messages with girls as young as 14 years old were posted on Facebook.

Kembara Kitchen founder William Cheah, who first exposed the man, said victims were traumatised from the man's stalking, harassment, and invitations for sex.

"One girl is so traumatised she does not dare to register her phone line.

"Another victim said he called her school pretending to be her brother and wanted to pick her up," Cheah said.

He added that many victims were too afraid to lodge reports and had been discouraged from speaking out.

"Some people who knew him believed that since nothing physical was done, he should not be treated 'this way' - that is ignorance of the law," Cheah said, adding that it is a dangerous attitude.

Cheah hoped that more victimes would come forward now that the man has been arrested.

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