PETALING JAYA: Police have confirmed that a recent sexual misconduct case at a Baling boarding school involves statutory rape, not gang rape, following evidence that the 15-year-old victim had separate sexual encounters with the suspects.
Kedah police chief Datuk Adzli Abu Shah said investigations revealed that the victim had sexual intercourse with each of the four suspects on different occasions, including in an empty classroom, a oil palm estate and at her home.
“The acts were carried out on a consensual basis, but as the victim is underage, she cannot be considered capable of giving consent or understanding the consequences,” he told an English daily yesterday.
Adzli said videos retrieved from phones seized during the investigation did not show the sexual acts but contained other immoral material involving the victim.
“The case has been classified as statutory rape under Section 376 of the Penal Code,” he said, adding that one of the suspects, aged 17, is the victim’s boyfriend.
The suspects, aged between 15 and 17, comprise three students and a former student of the same secondary school.
They were arrested on Sunday night after the victim’s father lodged a police report upon discovering a nude video of his daughter circulating on social media.
Police also seized six phones for examination.
Earlier, Baling acting district police chief DSP Ahmad Salimi Md Ali said the suspects were initially investigated under Section 375B of the Penal Code for gang rape and Section 8 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 for distributing child pornography.
In a statement, the Kedah Education Department said the students involved would be expelled, adding that an internal investigation has been launched.
“The department views this incident seriously and has taken immediate steps to assist the victim. Her wellbeing remains our top priority,” it said.
The case has reignited public concern over sexual misconduct and student safety, coming just weeks after a similar case in Malacca in which four male students were charged with gang-raping a Form Three girl in a classroom in Alor Gajah.
Education activists and psychologists say the back-to-back cases are a wake-up call, warning that the problem goes beyond student discipline to a deeper crisis of consent, culture and accountability within schools.
They have urged authorities to strengthen safeguards, introduce comprehensive sex education and ensure schools remain safe spaces for learning.
