KUALA LUMPUR - A businessman in Jackson, Massachusettes in the United States has been sentenced to 13 years and five months for sex crimes against children.

William Bruce Crain, former director of Fannie Mae's Mississippi partnership office, was convicted on Friday of possession of child pornography and initialising transmission of a child's information for sex.

US attorneys say chat logs prove that Crain tried to solicit a person in Texas to travel to Mississippi to rape his own nine-year-old niece and an 11-year-old neighbour.

Crain addressed the court during sentencing, saying he takes responsibility for what he's done.

Take action against child criminals, A-G

At Taman Putra Perdana in Puchong, near here,  Women, Family and Community Development Minister  Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who is clearly disappointed and upset over the rise in the number of crimes committed against children, wants the Attorney-General's Chambers to take immediate action against offenders.

She said such action was necessary to prevent crimes against children from becoming widespread.

"The ministry, through the Social Welfare Department, will not hesitate to ask A-G  Abdul Gani Patail to look into the matter and enforce the existing provisions under the Penal Code to charge the offenders in court," she said at a media conference after opening the national level World Children's Day 2009 at the Children's Activity Centre on Saturday.

Rise in number of child abuse cases

Shahrizat said the ministry was giving emphasis on issues pertaining to children this year following the rise in the number of abuse cases against them, which also involved parents.

"Various measures have been taken to demonstrate our commitment, including the approval given by the Cabinet to the National Child Policy and the National Child Protection Policy which were passed on July 29, 2009," she said.

The minister said the number of abuse cases had risen from 2,279 in 2007 to 2,780 in 2008, while abuse cases committed by parents or guardians rose from 992 in 2007 to 1,266 in 2008. - Malaysian Mirror