PETALING JAYA: The remand order for an unlicensed school van driver suspected of raping schoolgirls in his vehicle has been extended for six days, as police feverishly run a tooth-comb through the "van of terror" for evidence of the man's heinous acts.
The 51-year-old suspect was brought to the PJ magistrate's court this morning for the remand extension, which was granted by Magistrate Aishah Hijriah Arshah.
The case has merely served to highlight the growing fears of parents and school authorities over the menace posed to schoolchildren.
The crimes involve the alleged rape of two 10-year-olds by the same suspect and the third, a 12-year-old, allegedly molested by another driver in his Kelana Jaya home.
Petaling Jaya district police chief, ACP Arjunaidi Mohamed said police were waiting for another victim, also a primary schoolgirl, to come forward.
There is growing fear the suspect could have sexually hurt more girls in his van of terror.
Arjunaidi said: “We are still questioning the school authorities to know if any other pupil or parent had come forward with complaints against the suspect.”
The cases have been described as “a crime of extreme violence and cowardice committed against defenceless victims.”
This is the nightmarish van (pic) in which the two terrified girls recoiled in deep shock as they were set upon by the alleged rapist-driver, their guardian to and from school.
One of the girls was his foster child who is believed to have been sexually assaulted on several occasions.
Questions are being asked why parents chose to use the suspect’s school van service when he was not registered with the Malaysian School Bus Operators Association.
Police have the suspect in custody and are now checking if more girls were sexually assaulted by him in his nine-seater silver Nissan Vanette.
Forensics are tooth-combing the van for clues into the two alleged sexual assaults to establish if there could have been more such cases.
The suspect, a married man with three children, was produced in a magistrate’s court here this morning to have his remand extended for another week. The 40-year-old suspect is believed to have committed the perverted acts at this secluded street in Jalan 1/12 off Jalan Othman (pic) at noon last Monday.
He was caught by members of the public after a kindergarten teacher who was passing by raised an alarm on hearing the girl’s screams.
Clarifying news reports on the Jalan Othman incident, Arjunaidi dismissed claims that the sex act took place in full view of other pupils.
“The driver took the girl to a quiet place before allegedly raping her. There were no other students inside the van when the incident occurred."
On the number of victims, he said: “We are still waiting for another victim to come forward and we can’t confirm how many have been raped as investigations are underway," he said.
Arjunaidi said the second victim was raped in the suspect's house, adding that the victims were not from the same school.
Police are also anxious to contact Sabapati Siniah, 37, another school van driver to assist them with investigations into a molest case in the van involving a 12-year-old girl in Kelana Jaya.
Sexual attacks on schoolgirls have been on the rise of late. Prominent cases included two men who have been charged with the rape of five schoolgirls in Ampang.
In June, a taxi driver was charged with rape while keeping schoolgirls as sex slaves, also in Ampang.
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