Victims of crime: reports, impact statements, compensation and protection

Reporting the crime

• Information about an offence given orally to the officer in charge of a police station must be written down, read back to you, entered in a book with the date and hour, and signed by you (Criminal Procedure Code s 107(1)–(2)).
• Information given to a police officer who is not at a station is treated as received at a station (s 107(3)), and a police officer is duty bound to receive information about an offence committed anywhere in Malaysia (s 107(4)).
• A certified true copy of the recorded information, certified by the Officer in charge of the Police District, is admitted as evidence of its contents and of when and how it was recorded (s 108A).

Following the investigation

• You may ask the officer in charge of the station where you reported for a status report; it must be given within two weeks of your request (s 107A(1)–(2)).
• It need not be given unless the offence is seizable and four weeks have passed since your report, nor where it would harm the investigation or prosecution (s 107A(3)).
• If it is not given in time, you may report the failure to the Public Prosecutor, who must direct the Officer in charge of the Police District to report to him, and will have a status report given to you (s 107A(4)–(6)).

Being heard before sentence: the victim impact statement

Before passing sentence, the court shall, on the request of the victim or the victim’s family, call on the victim or a family member to make a statement on the impact of the offence on the victim or the family (s 183A(1)). If they cannot attend after being called, the court may admit a written statement (s 183A(2)).

Compensation from the offender

• When an accused is convicted, the court shall, on the application of the Public Prosecution, order the convicted person — or, if a child, the child’s parent or guardian — to pay a sum fixed by the court as compensation to the victim for injury to person or character, or loss of income or property, resulting from the offence (s 426(1A)).
• If the victim has died, the order is made in favour of a representative of the deceased (s 426(1B)).
• The court considers the nature of the offence, the injury, expenses, property loss, loss of income, the offender’s ability to pay and other relevant factors, and may hold an inquiry (s 426(1C)–(1D)).
• The court may allow time to pay, order instalments, issue a warrant to levy the sum by distress and sale of the offender’s property, or order imprisonment in default — up to one month where the sum is RM500 or less, two months up to RM1,000, and six months otherwise (s 432(1)–(2)).
• A compensation order does not stop you from suing the offender in a civil court; see civil claims.

Witness protection

• A witness includes a person who has given or agreed to give evidence in a criminal proceeding, a person who has given information, a statement or assistance to a public officer about an offence, and their relatives or associates who may need protection (Witness Protection Act 2009 s 2).
• Any witness may apply to the Director General of Witness Protection to be included in the Programme; an enforcement agency may apply with the witness’s written consent; a parent or guardian may apply for a witness under 18. Interim protection may be given while the application is considered (s 7).
• The Director General considers, among other things, the witness’s criminal record, examination results, the seriousness of the offence, the importance of the evidence, alternative ways of protection and the danger to the witness (s 9), then recommends; the Attorney General decides (s 10(1)–(3)).
• A person aggrieved by the decision may appeal in writing to the Minister within 14 days; interim protection continues meanwhile (s 10(4)–(5)).
• Protection may include accommodation, relocation, documents for a new identity (only with the participant’s written consent), replacement income or living expenses, relocation costs and help with work or education (s 13).
• Protection may be ended on the Attorney General’s decision after a recommendation (for example false information or the danger ceasing), after giving the participant an opportunity to be heard, with a 14-day appeal to the Minister (s 16).

Protection orders for domestic violence

• While a domestic-violence offence is being investigated, the court may, on application, issue an interim protection order prohibiting the person from using domestic violence against a spouse or former spouse, child, incapacitated adult or other family member, and from inciting others to do so (Domestic Violence Act 1994 s 4(1)–(3)).
• The interim order ends when the police tell the protected person in writing that investigations are complete with no further action, or — once a prosecution will be brought — if no application for a protection order is made within seven days, or when that application is decided (s 4(4)).
• In an application involving a complaint of domestic violence, the court may issue a protection order restraining violence against the victim, a child or an incapacitated adult (s 5(1)).
• See also Domestic Violence Act 1994.

Laws cited on this page

Each law links to our mirror page: a copy of the official text captured on a known date, its version history, and the official source. Law library →

Worked examples

Examples are simplified illustrations with invented names; real cases turn on their own facts.

Questions & answers

All questions & answers → · Ask your own →

Sources

• Criminal Procedure Code (Act 593) — official text, Laws of Malaysia portal (AGC)
• Witness Protection Act 2009 (Act 696) — official text, Laws of Malaysia portal (AGC)
• Domestic Violence Act 1994 (Act 521) — official text, Laws of Malaysia portal (AGC)

Related

Criminal Procedure CodeThe criminal process: from police report to verdictYour rights when arrestedDomestic Violence Act 1994Getting legal helpScams and online fraud: a guide for victims