M'sian paedophile shrink offers victim's family €2k to settle case

A Malaysian child psychiatrist in Ireland found guilty of sexually abusing and grooming a teenager had tried to buy his way out from being sentenced.

The Irish Independent reported that Dr Amirul Arif Mohd Yunos’ legal team had offered his 17-year-old victim €2,000 (RM9,320.40) in compensation for his crimes before the court.

However, the 38-year-old’s move backfired as her parents rejected the offer, calling it “the greatest insult”.

The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court found the doctor at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) office in Clonskeagh, Dublin, guilty last Thursday and sentenced him to eight-and-a-half years in jail on eight charges of sexually abusing and grooming the teenager from the age of 14.

Influential family

Amirul is the brother of social media influencer and intensive care doctor Dr Halina Mohd Yunos, who is the wife of Malaysian astronaut Dr Sheikh Muszhaphar Shukor.

A photograph of him in his graduation robe used in the Irish Independent article was first uploaded by Halina onto her publicly accessible social media.

Irish Independent reported that the court received testimonials from Amirul’s family in Malaysia including his wife, sister, father and father-in-law.

Another sister, who is also based in Ireland and serving children as a medical professional, and her husband supported Amirul in court. His mother travelled from Malaysia to be in court as well.

“He is from an influential family in Malaysia. We are disgusted by his family and others who wrote testi­monials of good character for him.

“It’s scary to think of how much tolerance these people have towards such sadistic crimes against a child,” the victim’s mother told the newspaper.

The Irish Times reported judge Orla Crowe as saying that the court had reviewed testimonials, a letter of apology from Amirul and a psychological report submitted on behalf of Amirul.

She noted the psychological report stated he had a “promising career” but his offence will prevent him from working in this field again in Ireland.

Amirul had been attached to a unit which treated children at risk while at Camhs.

Crowe said the court was “struck” by a section of the psychological report which noted that Amirul would have been expected to have a greater insight into the damage such an offence could cause due to his expertise.

The judge said Amirul was “very fortunate his community and wife stood by him”, referring to the testimonials submitted to the court.

Crowe imposed a sentence that backdated to when he went into custody.

Yet, the Irish Independent said questions have been raised in legal circles and among members of An Garda Síochána, the national police and security service of Ireland, on why he was not charged with rape.

This is because after already serving 14 months of detention, coupled with an automatic right to 25 percent remission, Amirul could be released in under five years and deported to Malaysia.

An innocent encounter

It was reported that the grooming began when the victim was just 14 while Amirul was practising at the Camhs. However, the girl was not a patient.

The psychiatrist, who was known to her parents, had offered her therapy after they asked him for a recommendation for their daughter, who was suffering from mild anxiety after Covid-19.

“I will never forget his smile when we asked for his advice. Little did we know he is an opportunistic sadist who would abuse his position of authority,” the victim’s mother told the Irish media.

The doctor reportedly began raping her over a year later, which Amirul called “biology lessons”. He had also sent her violent pornography to “study” for their next encounter.

Some of the abuse took place at Camhs, where he also treated vulnerable children.

The victim’s mother said Amirul only had one approved therapy session with her daughter in which both parents were present, but after that, he proceeded to secretly meet the girl for sessions without their consent.

Her parents only found out when he told her to ask for a longer school lunch break to attend a session with him at the hospital, and the school contacted her parents to confirm.

The victim’s mother said she and her husband immediately contacted him to tell him he could not see her for therapy.

However, he told them he was merely helping her because she had trouble eating and he had hoped to encourage her to eat by accompanying her over lunch.

‘Girl treated for internal damage’

The mother said her daughter was also made to sneak into the hospital to avoid being seen, involving climbing under a disability ramp.

“He would tell her her body was a ‘form of payment’ for his therapy service,” the girl’s mother told the Irish Independent.

“He said to her that he enjoyed seeing blossoming girls suffer in his hands as it made him feel more dominant and powerful.

“He threatened her that if she told people, no one would believe her because of his position in society,” she added.

Amirul had even told her daughter that it wasn’t rape when the teenager asked him, as “rape is violent”.

“But it was violent, it was rape. She was left bleeding sometimes. She has had to have medical procedures because of internal damage he caused.

“It was also escalating. We do not know how far he would have gone if she did not tell someone,” the victim’s mother said.

The girl had attempted suicide thrice due to the stress of her abuser’s criminal case and she had also developed an eating disorder as she did not want a body shape that could attract men, the newspaper reported.

The girl’s parents are now focusing on helping her recover from her ordeal.

If you are feeling depressed or suicidal, or know someone who is, please call the following hotlines:

Talian Kasih
Hotline: 15999

The Befrienders
Hotline: 03-76272929

Agape Counselling Centre Malaysia
Hotline: 03-77855955 or 03-77810800

Life Line Association Malaysia
Hotline: 03-42657995

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