M’sians Bombard Dr Halina's IG After Alleged Involvement in Pedophile Brother's Testimony
Yesterday, an Ireland-based news media, the Irish Independent, published an article on a case involving a Malaysian child psychiatrist who'd sexually abused a teenage girl.
The suspect, Amirul Arif bin Mohd Yunos had been grooming the teenage girl since she was 14.
It was later discovered that Amirul is the brother of Dr Halina Mohd Yunos, who is married to Malaysian astronaut Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha.
The victim was never Amirul's patient
According to the report, most of the abuse happened sometime between May and June 2023 when the victim was 15 years old. At the time, Amirul was a practising child psychiatrist in a Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) centre in Clonskeagh, Dublin, Ireland.
It started with unwanted physical touches before it escalated. It was also reported that the abuse did not only happen at Amirul's workplace but also in a car, the suspect's home and the victim's house.
The victim was not Amirul's patient, but he was known to her parents. They had asked Amirul for a recommendation for their daughter who was suffering from mild anxiety after Covid.
The mother of the victim added that the therapy was not supposed to continue further than the first meeting. But unbeknownst to her and her husband, Amirul had contacted their daughter to arrange meetings.
“She did not have a serious mental illness in the beginning, but as a consequence of what he went on to do she has developed serious severe depression, severe PTSD, anxiety flashbacks, ongoing self-harming, and suicidal ideation. All because of him,” she said.
The victim, now 17, had reportedly attempted suicide thrice last week over the stress of her abuser's criminal case.
Allegedly, through his legal team, Amirul had offered the family of the victims a sum of €2,000 (approx. RM9,346.08) as compensation for the crime. This act was seen as “the greatest insult” by the victim's parents and was rejected.
Early release was prompted by several factors including testimonies from supporting family members
Reportedly, the Irish court initially sentenced Amirul to 12 years in jail. However, taking into account several factors, including his early confession and the fact that he had no prior criminal records, the court set him to serve eight and a half years in jail.
Last week, the Irish court was made aware of testimony from Amirul's family in Malaysia and Ireland. All of them including his wife, sisters, in-laws and parents stated their support towards him.
This revelation prompted netizens to swarm Dr Halina's Instagram account, causing her to turn off the comment function of some postings. As of this article, Dr Halina has not released a statement regarding this issue.
Featured Image Credit: Nona, The Irish Independent