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BUTTERWORTH: Police have advised a Rohingya family to follow state religious department procedures before marrying off their 11-year-old daughter to a 21-year-old man today, according to Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) district police chief ACP Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid.
The family had agreed to postpone the marriage after being advised by police officers who were assisted by the district’s religious officials.
“We also informed them if they want to continue their marriage, they need to go through the process of marriage application with the Islamic religious and court offices. They admitted to understanding and will obey the instructions,“ he said when contacted.
According to him, a police report was made by a director of a non-governmental organization (NGO) here last Wednesday which revealed that the child, a former student at the NGO’s learning center, would be married.
“Following a police report made by the man, the police managed to locate the girl and her family at Taman Perai here.
Nik Ros Azhan said the 46-year-old father of the child worked as a contract laborer and claimed to wanting to marry daughter to a 21-year-old man because the groom would be able to take care of her.
Following the consent of the girls’ family to postpone the marriage, the police informed the Social Welfare Department on matter to monitor the girl from time to time.
According to him, the United Nations Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) was informed about the matter as all involved were UNHCR card holders. — Bernama
