Sex suspect in custody when girl was sent to her mum, say police

Penang police chief Dennis Lim revealed today that an 11-year-old schoolgirl who was allegedly sexually abused by her father was handed back to her mother by the welfare department, despite the perpetrator still being in custody. The incident came to light after assemblyman Heng Lee Lee questioned the decision to send the girl back to a home where the suspect resided.

Lim explained that the girl was taken into police protection on Oct 16 when her school principal filed a report, but her mother was away in Singapore at the time. The girl was placed in the care of her paternal grandmother and then transferred to the paediatric ward at Penang Hospital on Oct 17. The welfare department eventually returned her to her mother on Oct 21, three days before the man's remand was set to end on Oct 24.

Lim charged the suspect with sexual assault of a child on Oct 24, and the case is scheduled to be heard on Nov 11. He urged the public to refrain from making assumptions about the case.