KOTA BARU: Kelantan has one of the highest number of sexual crime cases in the country, said Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan.
He said most of the sexual crimes reported in Kelantan in the past few years were rapes.
"Eighty per cent of the sexual crimes reported in Kelantan involved children," he said after launching Kelantan police's Children's Interview Centre (CIC) in Kemumin here today.
Present were Bukit Aman's Criminal Investigations Department's sexual, women and child investigation division (D11) principle asisstant director Assistant Commissioner Siti Kamsiah Hassan and Kelantan CID chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Datuk Mohd Nor Yhazid Idris.
Asked about the higher number of sexual crimes involving children compared with adults in Kelantan, Jalil said he believed the lack of attention by parents to their children was a contributing factor.
"Many children nowadays are exposed to pornography and other immoral activities. Their parents do not have time to monitor their behaviour.
"This has caused many children being easily influenced and involved in sexual activities and incest," he added.
He said cases handled by the D11 unit not only involved children but also women.
"The sexual crimes involving women are also alarming and based on our investigations, the cases occured due to several factors, which includes family problems and suffering from stress," he said.
On another note, Jalil said 12,890 cases of various types of crime were recorded by Bukit Aman's D11 unit last year, and 13,327 reports in the previous year.
"Besides rape, other crimes include child abuse and abandoned babies," he said.