Police call for stricter parenting to curb delinquency

GEORGE TOWN: Parents need to revive a stricter upbringing of their children if society was to curb unruly young children, who may end up as juvenile delinquents if left unchecked, says state CPO Comm Datuk A. Thaiveegan.
He said that parents must reintroduce a strict regimen in raising their children or risk them growing up to be disrespectful citizens.
In time, they will likely fall prey of the law and become a burden to society instead of contributing towards nation building, he added.
Penang has been hit with a spate of high profile cases linked to the young; the death of teenager T. Nhaveen at the alleged hands of schoolmates, the apparent suicide of a 14 – year old girl after she was accused by her teacher of stealing a smartphone and now the stunts of "mat lajaks" (bicycle young stunt riders)
Thaiveegan was not amused with the rate of crime involving the young, saying for last year, there were 1,700 crime cases which allegedly involved juveniles.
And until March this year, police has nabbed 20 youngsters for narcotics abuse, and another 100 youngsters were suspected to have broken the law.
He said this after officiating the Penang – level Police Cadet Corp Day celebrations at the state education department's open hall here.
The event was held in conjunction with the annual Police Day celebrations.
Thaiveegan said that parents need to be accountable for the whereabouts of their children at all times, and if there was a need to be strict, they need to mete out the necessary punishment to keep their naughty children in check.
"Children out racing at 2am ... something is seriously wrong with the family institution. If we need to be strict, so be it."
Later, southwest district police head Asst Comm A. Anbalagan said that the police was collaborating with the prosecution office to introduce harsher penalties towards the legal guardians of these "mat lajak."
Previously, the magistrate court had fined the parents RM150 to RM400 if their children were found to be racing modified bicycles in the pre-dawn hours.
"But it seemed that it was not effective to curb this social ill. So we must consider punishing the parents severely to ensure that they maintain the discipline of their children, who are mostly below the ages of 12."
They are young and may not know the difference between right or wrong, Anbalagan said.
There are provisions under the Child Act to punish the legal guardians if their children misbehave and become a danger to road users along public roads.