KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 — A low conviction rate of seven per cent in rape cases prevents victims from coming forward, a DAP assemblyman said today after the gang rape of a teenage girl in Johor.

In a statement, Senai state assemblyman Wong Shu Qi said that based on available government data, eight rape cases were reported daily on average between 2006 and 2015.

'The system makes it difficult to secure convictions, for instance the burden of proof is on the victim to show an absence of consent.

"In Malaysia there were 29,698 rape cases reported between 2006 and 2015. This translates to eight rape cases each day, on average. Based on research, many more cases go unreported. What has failed our women?" she asked.

Wong lamented social stigma surrounding rape and urged the government to provide better supportive mechanisms for victims coming forward to report rape cases.

"I urge the Ministry of Home Affairs, through the police, and the Ministry of Health, through hospitals to strengthen the reporting mechanisms, to ensure that the victims feel safe throughout the process," she added.

Sources told Malay Mail yesterday that a teenage girl who was allegedly raped by nine soldiers in Kluang late last year was hospitalised after failing to take her own life last month.

It was learnt that the 17-year-old victim tried to commit suicide on the rooftop of the Kluang Parade shopping centre at Jalan Sentul in Kluang town centre on January 16, but was talked out of it by a security guard who later alerted the police.

The sources also revealed that one of the suspects, a 22-year-old army private, was the boyfriend of the victim and was believed to have been instrumental in the alleged gang rape.

The sources added that initial investigations revealed that eight out of the nine suspects had taken turns to gang rape the victim for more than two hours at a popular hotel at Jalan Mata Kucing in the Kluang town centre.

This latest incident is believed to be the first report of nine armed forces personnel arrested together for gang rape.

Over the years, several armed forces personnel have been arrested, charged and sentenced for rape and attempted rape.