Latest news with #justice
CNA
31 minutes ago
- CNA
Former teacher who molested 7-year-old student in classroom jailed for 9 months
SINGAPORE: A former Chinese language teacher who touched the inner thigh of his female student, then around seven years old, was given nine months' jail on Friday (Jun 20). The molestation was in 2019 but left a mark on the young girl's mind until she reported it three years later. The 38-year-old Malaysian national and Singapore permanent resident pleaded guilty to a count of aggravated molest of a victim under 14. Both the accused and victim, now 13, cannot be named to protect the latter's identity. According to a past media report, the accused is no longer a teacher. The victim was then a Primary 2 student between seven and eight years old, and the accused was her Chinese language and form teacher. The offence occurred in 2019 when the girl approached the teacher's table to find out the name of a song in the music video he was playing from a laptop. She was in her classroom. Nearing the end of class, the girl stood to the left of the accused to look at the screen while the man sat on the teacher's chair. The man then placed his hand under the girl's skirt and touched her inner thigh for a few seconds, causing the girl to feel uncomfortable. There were no other students at the teacher's table then. She told him that the touch felt "itchy" before joining her classmates for recess. When she was in primary 5, the girl informed her school's vice-principal about the molestation on Apr 28, 2022. Court documents did not describe what led to this moment. A psychiatrist who assessed the victim in April 2023 said that the girl felt "scared and angry" after the incident with suicidal thoughts. "She had recurrent thoughts and flashbacks about the offence. The victim also expressed a fear of males and reported difficulty trusting others, which (the psychiatrist) opined could lead to problems with interpersonal relationships later in life," the prosecution said. The prosecution argued for eight to 10 months' jail, noting how the accused had only pleaded guilty "on the doorstep of trial". The man's lawyer Anil Sandhu described his client as apologetic and informed the court that he is father of three young children. His wife was present for his hearing. District Judge Lim Tse Haw noted how teachers were held in high regard by society and trusted by parents to "impart knowledge and good moral values" in students. "Hence when our teachers breach that sacred trust and instead violate the modesty of our students, they must expect to receive a deterrent sentence, so that a clear message is sent out that society views such serious (offences) with opprobrium," Judge Lim said. He took into account the victim's young age but noted that the touch was fleeting and did not intrude on her private parts.
BBC News
39 minutes ago
- BBC News
Liverpool schoolgirl Ava White's killer is named as Harry Gilbertson
A teenager who stabbed a12-year-old schoolgirl to death can be named for the first time as he turns Gilbertson was 14 when he attacked Ava White in Liverpool after a row over a Snapchat video in November following year, he was convicted of her murder after a trial and, at 15, he was sentenced to a minimum of 13 years, but could not be identified due to reporting restrictions, despite representations from the mother Leeann White said: "I wanted the whole world to know who he was. I think Liverpool had the right to know who he was as well." On Ava's 15th birthday, in January 2024, Ms White's nephew was sent a photograph of Gilbertson from a seemingly fake Snapchat appeared to show him posing for the camera with his arms crossed alongside another male whose face had been covered on the photo with a logo and who had his middle finger White reported the photo and was told Gilbertson had been using an iPad for educational purposes and there was a glitch in the system allowing him to use the internet, but was also told the photo had been taken while he was on a said she was told he had been "read the riot act" but had no formal White said she felt "really angry" when she saw the picture."I can never have a photograph with my child now so why does he have the right?" Ava had been in the city centre with friends on 25 November, the night the Christmas lights were being switched on. The group became involved in an argument with Gilbertson and his friends, who had been filming Snapchat videos of was carrying a knife and stabbed Ava once to the neck, before fleeing the scene, discarding the weapon and getting rid of his was seen on CCTV in a shop later that night taking a selfie and buying butter, which he said was for White admitted she had mixed emotions about Gilbertson being named, as she said: "I try not to think about him if I'm being honest, because if I do, I'm just taking a million steps back."So I just try to focus on Ava and doing stuff for her legacy is more important to me than thinking about him."The 42-year-old said since the trial she had been told very little about Gilbertson, but had learnt he had done his GCSEs."It should have been Ava sitting her GCSEs, not him," she said. When making the decision to keep reporting restrictions in place, trial judge Mrs Justice Yip said there were concerns for younger family members, one of whom had not been told he was on trial for White said: "Yet I had to sit my little nephews and nieces down and tell them about Ava, but they could hide everything for him. I feel like they've done everything they can to protect him and his family."She said she felt her own family had "nowhere near" the same protection. Ms White said she believed her daughter's killer had an "understanding" of what he had done, but "no remorse"."He still gets to live and breathe. My Ava doesn't. His mum can see him getting married, having a baby. I'm never going to have that with Ava."She has since set up the Ava White Foundation to provide hundreds of bleed control kits. She said at least six lives had been saved through the packs."What keeps me going is I'm keeping Ava's name out there and that's more important to me, to keep Ava's name out there so she's not forgotten," she said Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Daily Mail
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Chinese PhD student who drugged and raped 10 women asked to be chemically castrated in bid to avoid jail time
A Chinese PhD student who drugged and raped 10 women asked to be chemically castrated in an attempt to avoid going to prison. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was yesterday jailed for a minimum of 22 years for the vile attacks during his time studying at University College, London. Following his conviction in March, detectives revealed they had evidence relating to suspected attacks on another 50 women in the UK and China after uncovering a sickening collection of trophy videos kept by the engineering PhD student as a souvenir. Now a further 24 victims have come forward saying they were raped by Zou while he was studying in the UK. The fiend filmed some of his victims helpless and stupefied in sick home videos that he kept of his attacks. Inner London Crown Court heard that Zou had offered to be chemically castrated to avoid a life sentence. But Judge Rosina Cottage said he would always be a risk to the public because of his 'sexual interest' in 'asserting power and control over women', adding that the victims were just 'pieces in an elaborate game'. Jailing him for life, she said: 'The charming mask hid the fact that you are also a sexual predator.' Chemical castration of paedophiles and other sex offenders is currently being piloted in south-west England, and includes taking two drugs, one to limit sexual thoughts and the other to reduce testosterone and limit libido. Chemical castration is voluntary in Germany, France, Sweden and Denmark, and some sex offenders actively seek it out. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood recently announced the existing pilot would be expanded to 20 prisons. Victims told yesterday how they were 'haunted' by what Zou had done to them as a judge said he had treated unconscious women like 'sex toys' for his own pleasure. The son of a wealthy Chinese Communist Party official and industrialist, Zou stalked student bars, accommodation and online dating apps looking for victims, plying unsuspecting women with drinks laced with drugs. He lured the women back to his lavish student apartment in East London with the promise of a party or help with studies, before stupefying them with drink and drugs until they fell unconscious, enabling him to film his sickening attacks on hidden bedroom spy cameras. One victim, whom Zou had described as 'the perfect girlfriend choice', recalled waking in a strange room after going to a drinking party in 2021: 'I experienced for the first time a loss of consciousness. 'I opened my eyes for a few seconds during the sexual assault in his room, he was thrusting violently against my body. I was completely powerless and could only use all my strength to demand he stop. 'Although I lost consciousness just moments later, his face in that moment will clearly stay in my mind forever.' She later awoke naked lying next to him: 'Panic surged through me-everything about the room I was in was unfamiliar and I had no memory of how I got there. 'That night, it was as if the world had vanished from my life for hours. 'Everything in this world- my memories, time, even my own body- no longer felt like mine. Overwhelmed by fear, my only thought was to escape. A Tinder profile where the student appears under a different name 'Stumbling out of his room, I found myself in a completely unknown place. I didn't know where I was or how to leave. The memories of that night were fragmented- I only recall wandering like a trapped animal, desperately searching for an exit. 'For over a week afterward, I locked myself in my bathroom, consumed by terror, confusion, anger, and shame.' She added: 'I still can't read news about him or see his photo without feeling sick... 'To this day, I struggle to trust anyone. I avoid new friendships, trapped in the aftermath of what he did. 'Words will never fully convey the depth of this wound. But one thing is certain: what happened that night is etched into my soul forever. His face, his expression-they will never leave me. 'I will never forgive him.' Disturbingly, many of the women targeted may not realise they had been raped as some of Zou's home videos showed his captives so incapacitated that he was able to slap one victim around the face without them rousing. Zou unwittingly left a treasure trove of evidence for officers by recording the attacks for his own twisted gratification and hoarding personal items stolen from victims, ranging from underwear and lipstick to a Chanel earring. The bedroom in Zou's flat, where he chillingly boasted that 'the sound insulation is very good' By the time of his trial, only two of the 10 rape victims had been identified by police, but now detectives have traced a third victim. Detectives have established from the video clips seized that there are at least another 50 unknown women attacked. One victim said the attack in his London flat in May 2023 had a 'severe impact' on her mental health, resulting in her self-harming to try to manage the pain. 'I have no trust in others. Before this incident, I was not aware that a human could do such evil things,' she said in her victim impact statement. 'I am in so much mental agony and pain. I am not sure anything will help what I have gone through. 'When I heard that he had been found guilty, I was very pleased but even more pleased as I knew that women were safe, and there would be no more victims who would have to go through what I have gone through. 'When I see his image I am overcome with fear. 'I know his family is very powerful in China, and he may blame me for ruining his what was a potentially prosperous future. I believe he would confront me and seek revenge by doing horrible things. 'I fear if he is released he will commit the same crime again, I do not think he has learnt his lesson, or ever will.' A hidden spy camera that the rapist used to record his crimes The judge said of her case: 'Outrageously, she was trolled on social media for having bravely warned others. It has rocked her to her core, she feels guilt for your behaviour, you (Zou) feel no shame.' Another victim in China described being 'gagged by shame' and 'haunted' by nightmares following the attack. Yesterday, jurors who had earlier wept on seeing the distressing rape videos, returned to Inner London Crown Court to see him sentenced. Bespectacled Zou, smartly dressed in a navy suit and tie, stared at jurors, showing no emotion as he was jailed. Scotland Yard began investigating Zou in November 2023 after a woman reported him for rape. When officers examined his digital devices, they uncovered more than 1,600 hours of videos. Victims living in Britain, China, Australia, the Middle East and Europe have since come forward. Chillingly, Zou said the victims in his videos were only pretending to be asleep as he enjoyed 'time-stop' pornography. But officers believe the sexual deviant is one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders after Reynhard Sinaga and Black cab rapist John Worboys. Sinaga, 42, was convicted of 159 sex attacks on 48 heterosexual men in Manchester between 2015 and 2017. Worboys, 67, was convicted of 19 sex attacks against 12 women between 2006 and 2008. Zou was convicted in March for raping three women in London and seven victims in China between September 2019 and May 2023. He was also convicted of 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. Saira Pike, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women. His life sentence reflects the heinous acts and harm he caused to women and the danger he posed to society.' The Metropolitan Police is appealing to anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by Zou to contact the force either by emailing survivors@ or via the major incident public portal on the force's website.
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Zaid lists prosecutorial reforms needed after Najib's latest DNAA
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim said public fatigue over flawed prosecutions is reaching a tipping point. PETALING JAYA : Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has outlined several proposed reforms to keep the Attorney-General's Chambers accountable, after Najib Razak's discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in his SRC International Sdn Bhd money laundering case. Zaid said the AGC has operated without being held accountable for too long, necessitating reforms to be undertaken as Malaysians become disillusioned. 'Public fatigue over flawed prosecutions is reaching a tipping point. Malaysians are watching and they are angry,' the former Kota Bharu MP said in a post on X. Zaid called again for the separation of the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor to be expedited to ensure the public prosecutor's independence in upholding justice. He also suggested the establishment of a prosecution oversight commission, specifically to review decisions not to prosecute cases of public interest and to recommend referrals for judicial review. He proposed that a prosecution code of ethics be enacted to make it mandatory for prosecutors to always disclose all exculpatory evidence and provide written justifications for DNAAs, NFAs (no further action) and plea bargains. This is also aimed at excluding any political influence in charging any individual of an offence. Zaid called for the AGC to be required to table annual reports on the statistics of DNAAs and NFAs as well as prosecution outcomes in Parliament, and for a select committee to oversee prosecutorial conduct. He also suggested that senior prosecutors, like judges, be appointed to fixed terms to ensure that their tenures are protected from arbitrary removal. He called for whistleblower protection laws to be reviewed to allow for disclosures to be made even if involving classified information, as long as done in public interest and good faith. Zaid said Perikatan Nasional should champion these reforms if it wanted to gain public support, instead of simply touting slogans on reforms. 'A credible, ironclad promise to clean up the prosecution – with independent oversight, transparent rules, and professional integrity – would strike a powerful chord among the rakyat,' he said. This morning, Najib was granted a DNAA in his RM27 million SRC money laundering case after the High Court found that the prosecution was not ready to proceed with the trial. Justice K Muniandy said no witness testimony had been pursued since the case was brought against Najib in 2019, only a plethora of postponements, indicating that the prosecution was not ready to prosecute the case. Najib is currently serving his reduced six-year prison term for abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving RM42 million in SRC funds. In November, Najib and former Treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah were granted a DNAA in their International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) case.
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Widower jailed 2 years for soliciting sex from teen daughter
The self-employed man pleaded guilty after the charge was read before Muar sessions court judge Sayani Nor. (File pic) PETALING JAYA : A 47-year-old widower has been sentenced to two years in jail and two strokes of the rotan for inviting his teenage daughter to engage in sexual acts. The self-employed man pleaded guilty after the charge was read before Muar sessions court judge Sayani Nor, Harian Metro reported. He was charged with sexually communicating with his 14-year-old daughter, his only child, at a house in Batu Pahat, Johor, at around 4pm on June 16. The charge was framed under Section 11(1)(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, punishable by a maximum three years in jail upon conviction. The charge was also read with Section 16 of the same Act, which provided for an additional sentence of up to five years and two strokes of the rotan due to the relationship of trust between him and the victim. Deputy public prosecutor Diyana Najihah Fauzi prosecuted while the man was unrepresented. According to the case facts, the victim contacted her aunt earlier this month to express fears that her father might act inappropriately towards her. On the day of the incident, the girl had rejected her father's advances and left his bedroom. The aunt then asked one of her children to pick the girl up from the house.
