Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said has denied that a rapist can escape prosecution by marrying a girl aged below 16 years.

"The law stipulates that sexual intercourse with a child below 16 years old, with or without the child's consent, will be catogorised as rape," Azalina said in a statement today.

Her statement came following BN Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya's statement to Parliament that marriage between a rape victim and her rapist was a social remedy and the law did not prevent them from getting married.

Opposition lawmakers have raised concern when debating the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill 2017 in the Dewan Rakyat that the rapist might resort to marrying the rape victim to escape prosecution. The bill was passed yesterday.

Azalina said that in statutory rape cases, the perpetrator would be charged under Section 376(2) of Penal Code, which carries a jail sentence of between five and 30 years, and whipping, for having sex with a minor, with or without her consent.

"This issue should not be twisted by any party as it needs to be resolved together, for the sake of the future generation.

"On the contrary, with the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill 2017 passed in Parliament, (we) hope the matter involving children could be dealt with in a more effective manner.

"An investigation will be initiated upon receiving a police report on rape incident. This, however, depends on the juridiction of the public prosecutor and the existing evidence to initiate and continue with a prosecution in court," Azalina said.