KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysian authorities are pressing Britain for information on the child sex crimes of Briton Richard Huckle, hoping to reach out to his dozens of victims and possibly launch their own investigations, police have said.
Huckle's trial in London has stirred outrage in Malaysia as details have emerged on a string of sex attacks he committed on poor children as young as six months after setting himself up as an English teacher in Kuala Lumpur.
Investigators found over 20,000 indecent images on his computer. He also kept a ledger of his attacks and wrote a manual called "Paedophiles And Poverty: Child Lover Guide".
Supt Ong Chin Lan, assistant director of a special division dealing with such crimes, said Malaysian police still do not know the identities of Huckle's victims and hope to get details from Britain. They hope to get details from Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) after he is sentenced.
"We have asked for the information repeatedly and will continue to press them for more information for follow-up action," Supt Ong was quoted as saying by state-run Bernama news agency. "So far, the victims have not been identified and the NCA only informed us about the incident about one month ago."
A sentencing hearing is expected to be concluded on Friday (June 3) that could land Huckle, 30, in prison for life on 91 charges including the rape and sexual assault of children as young as six months.
The case has sparked revulsion in Malaysia, with newspapers on Friday plastering photos of Huckle on their front pages along with angry headlines.
Leading daily The Star's banner headline read: "This monster defiled our kids."
Huckle photographed and put online thousands of images of the abuse, which led to his detection and arrest by British police.
Supt Ong said authorities were making plans to provide help to the victims, once they are identified. A hotline for victim's families and anyone else with knowledge of his crimes also has been set up.
Huckle is reported to have preyed upon children from families in Muslim-majority Malaysia's Christian community.
He was arrested at London's Gatwick airport in December 2014 as he returned home from Malaysia for Christmas.
