Sick child rapist escapes prison by MARRYING his teenage victim
A SICK sex offender charged with raping a schoolgirl has escaped jail - by MARRYING his young victim.
Ahmad Syukri Yusuf
The ruling, under Islamic law, has sparked outrage among rights groups who have stepped up their calls for a ban on child marriage and justice for victims of sexual violence.
Ahmad Syukri Yusuf faced 30 years in prison and a flogging for the statutory rape of the 14-year-girl, according to prosecutor Ahmad Fariz Abdul Hamid.
But the 22-year-old married the teenager and the court in Kuching, in Malaysia's eastern state of Sarawak, ruled there was no need to proceed after the paedophile submitted a marriage certificate and the girl withdrew the complaint.
A young muslim girl in Sarawak
Her marriage is basically an extension to rape
The case has caused revulsion among activists in the region.
Kuala Lumpur-based Women's Aid Organisation spokeswoman Tan Heang Lee said: "It is very common for rapists to marry their survivors, especially when they are underage, to cover up their crime.
"There is usually a high risk in this kind of cases that these girls will be subject to a lifetime of sexual abuse.
“Her marriage is basically an extension to rape."
The mosque in the Malaysian town of Kuching
Under Malaysia's civil laws, the legal minimum age for marriage is 18 but Muslim girls who are under 16 can obtain permission to marry from Islamic courts.
Ethnic Malays, who are Muslim, make up about 60 per cent of the country's 30 million population.
Human Rights Watch, citing the latest available government statistics, said around 16,000 girls in Malaysia got married before their 15th birthday.
Worshippers leave the mosque at Kuching
Ann Teo, vice-president of the Kuching-based Sarawak Women for Women Society, said accused rapists should be prevented from marrying their victims.
She said: "It sends a message a person will be freed from his charge if he enters into this kind of marriage of convenience with the girl."