Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (photo, above) today advised parents to monitor and control the use of smartphones by their children to ensure they are not influenced by negative influences such as pornographic material.

The Deputy Prime Minister said cases of moral decadence can be attributed to the influence of the internet.

She was asked to comment on the arrest of a 12-year-old boy yesterday in Batu Gajah, Perak, for the repeated rape of a four-year-old girl cared for by his babysitter mother, apparently after he was influenced by videos he saw on a mobile phone.

The boy’s mother reportedly babysits eight children between the ages of two and 11, including the rape victim whom she had been caring for since October 2017.

Wan Azizah, who is also Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said parents should ensure there is a parental control app on the smartphones they allow their children to use.

“The offender is a minor. In most cases, the (negative) influence is the internet, watching porn,” she told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

- Bernama