Deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran said the number of foreign suspects has shown an upward trend, increasing from 67 in 2021 to 148 in 2025. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA: The Dewan Negara today passed the Sexual Offences Against Children (Amendment) Bill 2026 to expand Malaysia's legal jurisdiction over child sexual offences committed outside the country. Deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran said the amendment is important as child sexual crime cases involving foreign nationals in Malaysia recorded a 117% increase over the five-year period from 2021 to 2025, Bernama reported.
He said police statistics showed that the number of reported cases increased from 1,095 in 2021 to 2,385 last year. "The number of foreign suspects has shown an upward trend, increasing from 67 in 2021 to 148 in 2025, with the majority comprising Indonesian, Bangladeshi, Myanmar and Pakistani nationals. "Malaysia cannot rely on a limited jurisdictional framework.
This amendment ensures that any person with a substantial connection to Malaysia cannot evade legal action simply because the offence was committed abroad," he said when winding up the debate on the bill in the Dewan Negara. Kulasegaran said the amendment was crucial to ensure Malaysia had sufficient jurisdiction to take action against perpetrators of child sexual offences who had a clear connection to Malaysia, even if the offences involved cross-border elements. He also said police had identified five key areas of focus in digital forensic investigations to address the threat of child sexual abuse material and deepfake content generated using artificial intelligence.
He said the measures included analysing AI models, examining system logs and tracing IP internet addresses to ensure the digital chain of custody remained admissible in court in efforts to combat technology-enabled sexual crimes. "The main focus of the investigation is to establish the link between the digital content and the suspect through valid digital evidence, reliable forensic analysis and a complete, unbroken chain of custody." Earlier, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said, when tabling the bill for its second reading, said the amendment sent a clear message that Malaysia would not compromise with or tolerate those who sexually exploited children and destroyed their future.
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