PETALING JAYA, May 7 — A federal minister denounced today a Malaysian math scholar serving time in Britain for possessing child pornography materials as guilty, urging that the youth be given rehabilitation upon his return to the county as he is “sick”.

Women, Family and Community Development minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said the ministry is also extremely appalled with Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, the 23-year-old on a Majlis Amanah Rakyat  scholarship at the prestigious Imperial College London.

“Let me tell you how we feel. We are very appalled with what has happened with the student for doing something which has tarnished our country’s name, that’s for sure.

“On that aspect, he has a disease. He is sick,” Rohani said, adding that Nur Fitri should also not be allowed to be free in the society.

“Sometimes with this kind of sickness, he has to go through rehabilitation, counselling and psychiatric observation... he is sick and actually for being sick he shouldn’t be free,” she told reporters.

London’s Metropolitan Police Service said last week that Malaysian maths student Nur Fitri was found to be in possession of over 30,000 videos and photographs of child pornography and with a life-sized mannequin of a young boy in his room.

According to the Met, the 23-year-old was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to five years’ jail on April 30 for 13 offences of possessing and making indecent images of children, as well as intent to distribute the materials.

But the London court told Malay Mail Online yesterday that the imprisonment sentence was 18 months.

When Rohani was asked if felt that the youth deserved a second chance, she said her ministry maintains that he is guilty.

“No talks of second chance. I already made my stand that he is guilty,” she said after attending a book launch programme by fast food outlet McDonald’s in Kota Damansara here.

She, however, offered to help Nur Fitri and his family members by extending the ministry’s counselling service.

“I hope the parents would take him back. It’s a real pity that they have such a brilliant child but who at the same time is indulging in a very offensive activity.

“We have trained counsellors to help him if needed and we are not only extending this to Nur Fitri n but also his family members who are surely undergoing trauma, ashamed of their son’s actions. Please come forward and we will help,” Rohani said.

When asked about the possibility of setting up a sex offenders’ registry in collaboration with the police force, Rohani said that the ministry is currently collecting public feedback.

“We did have a townhall meeting the other day and the idea of it was to get suggestions to strengthen whatever that we have now. As you know, we are protectors (sic) of children,” she said.