BALIK PULAU: Penang police have clarified details of a child sexual assault case involving an 11-year-old girl after an assemblyman raised concerns over her welfare and protection.
Penang police chief Datuk Dennis Lim said the Southwest district police headquarters’ Criminal Investigation Division received a report from a school principal at 11.15am on Oct 16, 2025.
The report concerned allegations that the girl had been sexually assaulted by her biological father.
Acting on the report, police arrested the girl’s father about 5.30pm the same day. He was remanded until Oct 24, 2025.
The suspect was charged at the Balik Pulau court on Oct 24, 2025, under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, read together with Section 16 of the same Act.
The case is currently on trial, with the next court date scheduled for Nov 11, 2026.
On the girl’s welfare, Lim said she was initially placed under her grandmother’s temporary care on Oct 16, 2025, as her biological mother was in Singapore at the time.
“On Oct 17, 2025, the victim was referred to the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) at Penang Hospital and warded in the paediatric ward until Oct 21, 2025.
“The Southwest district Welfare Department then handed the victim over to her biological mother on Oct 21, 2025,” he said.
Lim advised the public not to speculate or spread unverified information that could lead to misunderstandings concerning the case.
His statement followed Berapit assemblyman Heng Lee Lee’s recent questioning of why the girl, who was allegedly sexually abused by her biological father, was allowed to return to an environment where the alleged perpetrator resided instead of being placed under immediate state protection.
Heng described the incident as a breakdown in systemic safeguards, citing what she said were significant coordination failures among the police, hospitals and the Welfare Department.