PETALING JAYA: Federal Territories Mufti Datuk Ahmad Fauwaz Fadzil Noor has supported a proposal by Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat, saying underage girls in consensual sex cases should not be fully exempted from liability.
In a statement published on the Federal Territories Mufti’s office website on Sept 22, he said civil law tends to focus on prosecuting men while protecting women.
However, he argued that this approach does not always reflect the reality of cases where both parties may have been equally involved.
“The government has the right to review the laws relating to consensual statutory rape.
“Harsher punishments should be imposed on all parties involved. Granting immunity to one side will not solve the problem,” he said.
Ahmad Fauwaz said the current legal stance appears biased as it punishes only one party, although both may be morally culpable.
He added that women should also face punishment if found guilty, noting that while civil law protects female victims, they should not be exempted from responsibility if they contributed to the offence.
“Fair and proportionate punishment for both parties will provide more effective lessons and deterrence.
“Exempting one side from punishment could encourage the repetition of such offences and denies the reality that in many cases both parties were involved knowingly and willingly, even if one of them was underage.”
At the same time, Ahmad Fauwaz said authorities still have the discretion to impose harsher punishment on men who exploit underage girls, as they have yet to reach the maturity needed to think rationally.
“On the other hand, it is the man’s responsibility to guide and protect women, not exploit them.
“Islamic law aims to provide education (ta’dib) to offenders and society as a whole, so that crimes are not repeated. Therefore, granting immunity to one side contradicts the objectives and principles of Islamic law,” he added.
