16,238. That’s how many reports of child sexual abuse material involving Malaysian children were logged in 2024 alone. Another 12,656 came in during just the first six months of 2025[1].
Behind those numbers is a legal problem Malaysia has just moved to fix. On 30 June 2026, the Dewan Rakyat passed an amendment to Section 3 of Act 792, the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, closing a jurisdictional gap that had let some of the worst offenders walk free simply because of where the crime happened.
What is the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017?
Before 2017, investigators relied largely on the Penal Code, which is a general criminal law that protects everyone, covering broad crimes such as theft, robbery and terrorism in addition to rape. However, it was not comprehensive enough to fight against newer forms of child sexual abuse.
The Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 is the first legislation in Malaysia that was explicitly designed to protect children. Offences officially listed in the 2017 Act include child pornography, grooming, sexual assault, and sexual extortion[2, 3].
Despite this, the Act had a serious flaw. Its extraterritorial jurisdiction only applied to Malaysian citizens committing offences overseas.
Picture this: a Malaysian child is on a family holiday in Italy. A non-Malaysian offender abuses the child, then flies home to a country with no interest in extraditing them. Under the old law, Malaysian courts had no jurisdiction to touch that offender. The crime happened on foreign soil, committed by a foreign national, and that was the end of the story.
What has changed?
The amendment rewrites who Malaysia can now hold accountable, regardless of nationality. Two groups are newly covered:
- Malaysian permanent residents and habitual residents (people who live in Malaysia long-term) who commit offences against any child, anywhere in the world.
- Any person, of any nationality, who commits an offence outside Malaysia against a child who is a Malaysian citizen, permanent resident, or habitual resident.
It is important to note that dual criminality is no longer required. This means defence lawyers can no longer argue that Malaysia has no jurisdiction simply because the offence took place in another country with different laws.
Previously, for a person to be prosecuted, the act had to be considered a crime in both countries. Under the current provision, offenders can now be charged in Malaysia for sexual crimes against children committed abroad, as though the offences had taken place within Malaysia itself[4].
Protection for all children
The Act promises to be inclusive by protecting all children against Malaysia-linked offenders, regardless of whether one was stateless[5]. By keeping the categorical definition of children broad, the Amendment ensures that no child is excluded solely because of nationality.
It also reflects the changing tactics predators use to abuse children. The Amendment is a significant first step towards addressing offenders who use loopholes such as differences between legal systems in different countries to evade accountability. With Malaysia’s expanded extraterritorial jurisdiction, it is a lot harder for child sexual offences to be committed across borders, which is in line with its role towards the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)[6].
As a state party, Malaysia has a responsibility to ensure that its domestic legal framework remains aligned with the international obligations it has undertaken, subject to the reservations maintained by Malaysia under the CRC.– M. Kulasegaran, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform)[4]
How does it work?
Cases that involve cross-border efforts to apprehend the suspect are a little more complex.
- Report locally first. The country where the abuse happened has primary jurisdiction, so victims or witnesses should report to police there.
- Report to PDRM. Reporting to the Royal Malaysia Police is also mandatory under Malaysian law; skipping this step can mean a fine of up to RM5,000[7].
- Cross-border coordination. PDRM works through INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau to alert foreign police, while the Attorney General’s Chambers handles Mutual Legal Assistance requests to exchange evidence[8, 9].
- Extradition, if needed. If the suspect is based overseas, Malaysia can pursue extradition under the Extradition Act, but only with a provisional warrant already secured[10]
That’s the theory. In practice, several things can still derail a case:
- Dual criminality can resurface. Even though it no longer blocks prosecution in Malaysia, it can still slow down evidence-sharing or extradition requests, since many countries won’t cooperate unless the act is also a crime under their own law[11].
- Other countries retain primary responsibility. The amendment doesn’t override another nation’s legal system; it just gives Malaysia a second avenue. If an offender has already been tried overseas, double jeopardy concerns can complicate a Malaysian prosecution, though exceptions exist (a quashed earlier trial, a different charge, or a technical error in the original case)[12].
- Not every report becomes a charge. Prosecution still depends on the strength of the evidence and the public prosecutor’s judgment.
- No retroactivity. Like all new laws, this one only applies going forward; crimes committed before 30 June 2026 can’t be charged under the amended provisions.
Explore Our Sources:
- Malay Mail. (2026). Azalina tables sweeping amendment to Act 792, expanding child sex crime law and closing loopholes overseas. Link
- AESS Web. (2020). An Empirical Analysis of Legal and Institutional Frameworks on Child Protection. Archive of Asian Economic and Social Studies. Link
- Wikipedia. (2026). Penal Code (Malaysia). Link
- The Star. (2026). Dewan Rakyat pass bill to allow prosecution of child sexual offences committed overseas. Link
- Malay Mail. (2026). Dewan Rakyat passes Sexual Offences Against Children Amendment Bill 2026, closing overseas loopholes. Link
- Government of Malaysia. (2024). Undang-Undang dan Perlindungan Wanita: Laws Related to Children. MyGovernment Portal. Link
- UNICEF. (2025). Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Report: Country Evaluation & Action Framework. BHEUU. Link
- INTERPOL. (2026). Member Countries: Malaysia and International Police Cooperation Protocols. Link
- Malaysiakini. (2016). A comprehensive breakdown of cross-border criminal jurisdiction challenges. Link
- ICRC. (1992). National Practice: Extradition Act 1992 (Act 479) of Malaysia. International Committee of the Red Cross Database. Link
- M. K. Hanif. (2026). Statement by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) on Overseas Crime Prosecution. Malay Mail. Link
- Academia. (2020). Double Jeopardy Cases In Malaysia: A Constitutional and Judicial Analysis. Link
