Review Section 377E of Penal Code on gross indecency, govt told

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to amend Section 377E of the Penal Code and punish any person who incite a child under the age of 17 to an act of gross indecency.
Under the present law, only those who incite children under the age of 14 to indecencies with him or another person shall be punished.
Puteri Umno delegate Norrulhuda Marsidin said the amendment was necessary in light of the recent paedophile case involving Richard Huckle and other similar stories shared on social media.
"We propose the age to be raised to 17. Not just that, we also hope the government will develop a specific law for pornography-related crimes involving a child," she said during a debate at Umno General Assembly, here, today.
Huckle was recently given 22 life sentences by a court in London for sexually violating 23 children and babies in Malaysia for almost a decade.
His case prompted several social experiments being conducted to prove the extent of paedophilia in the country, as well as a number of Malaysians coming out and sharing their own version of falling prey to paedophiles here.
In addition, Norrulhuda also urged the education ministry to review the current education blueprint and implement sex education at the earliest stage possible in schools, stressing that it is currently not being taken seriously enough.
"At this moment, the education is not being taught seriously enough, and need to be reviewed, to create more awareness among the children," she said.