by Heidi Foo

SEREMBAN, MALAYSIA - A 16-year-old girl's ordeal at the hands of her own father came to light when her mother noticed semen stains on her daughter's bed and tracksuit.

The 49-year-old mother, who is a chef at a restaurant, then inspected her husband's pants in their bedroom at their flat in Paroi, near here, and found similar stains.

She then confronted her daughter on March 8 who confessed that she had been repeatedly raped by her 52-year-old father since she was 12 years old.

The victim said her father had been raping her even when they were staying in Kuala Pilah before they moved to the flat in Paroi.

The girl, accompanied by her mother, lodged a report at the Seremban 2 police station on April 8 and was sent to the Seremban Hospital for medical examination. The suspect was detained for questioning on Monday.

District police chief Assistant Commissioner Saiful Azly Kamaruddin said if not for the mother, the victim would have continued to suffer in silence.

"The mother's actions led police to detain the suspect, a lorry driver, who is being held for questioning till May 10.

"All this while, the child told us that she was forced to keep the secret after being threatened by the suspect," he said, yesterday.