What Child Act provisions were breached?

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Child Act Provisions Violated During Teenage Detention

The detention of a 16-year-old girl under Malaysia's Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) resulted in multiple breaches of the Child Act 2001. These violations included the failure to present the child before a Court for Children within the stipulated timeframe and her placement in a lock-up alongside adult female detainees. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) has strongly condemned these actions, asserting that the Child Act should supersede all other legislation concerning the detention of minors.
Delayed Presentation Before Court

Under Section 84 of the Child Act, any child arrested must be brought before a Court for Children within 24 hours of their arrest. This critical legal safeguard was not observed in the case of the 16-year-old, who was detained on January 14 in connection with an anti-trafficking investigation but was not presented to the court within this mandated period.
Inappropriate Custodial Placement

The OCC highlighted that the girl was held in a lock-up facility alongside adult female detainees. This arrangement is in direct contravention of the Child Act, which mandates separate and appropriate detention facilities for minors. Such a placement also violates the principles outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Conflict Between Sosma and Child Act

The OCC’s position is that the Child Act is intended to prevail over all other laws when it comes to the detention of minors. The Commissioner argues that detaining children under Sosma is fundamentally incompatible with child rights standards and has called for any provisions allowing for such detentions to be repealed entirely. The application of Sosma in this instance also denied the girl specific safeguards that should have been available, such as bail, subjecting her instead to the Act's stringent pre-charge detention provisions.

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What Child Act provisions were breached?

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