KUCHING: Media reports saying that one of the world’s most wanted paedophiles, Alladin Lanim, was arrested at a quarantine centre here after returning from Peninsular Malaysia is inaccurate, said Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Aidi Ismail.
Aidi clarified that Alladin had never left the state since his return to Sarawak in 2016 and that his whereabouts as a field conductor in an oil palm plantation in Kampung Biawak, Lundu, was discovered by intelligence conducted by the Sarawak Criminal Investigation Department (CID) D11 unit.
“Alladin’s arrest is the result of the Royal Malaysia Police’s (PDRM) cooperation, especially the D11 unit in Bukit Aman and Sarawak CID D11 unit with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and various other agencies in Malaysia. PDRM acted in a team that played their respective roles.
“As the suspect’s activities took place on the darkweb with unknown identity, intelligence and investigation was conducted by D11 unit in Bukit Aman along with AFP which has more expertise in investigations involving the darkweb until the suspect was identified,” he said in refuting claims from certain quarters that Alladin’s presence went unnoticed by the local police.
Based on the information, he said, a team from Sarawak CID D11 and D9 units arrested Alladin on July 5 for possessing thousands of child pornography in his mobile phone which led to an investigation under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
“Five children from the local neighbourhood also came forward with their parents to lodge police reports to assist in the investigation.
“On August 16 and 17 in the Kuching Sessions Court, Alladin was charged with 18 counts and was sentenced to 48 years and six months imprisonment and 15 lashes.
“The accused is currently serving a prison sentence and several more charges will be proposed to the Deputy Public Prosecutor in the near future,” he explained.
Aidi also pointed out that since the enactment of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (Act 792) on July 10, 2017 until August 31, 2021, a total of 260 cases of sexual offenses against children have been investigated by Sarawak CID D11 unit.
“As many as 76 percent of the cases have been successfully prosecuted where more than three quarters of the culprits have already been sentenced to prison. The rest are still in the process of trial.
“Efforts to curb this crime do not lie only on one side, but the cooperation of various parties including law enforcement agencies both from within and outside the country are also crucial. Likewise, individuals and members of the community with any information regarding child sexual abuse are also encouraged to come forward,” he added.
