By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Nov 13: A coffee shop assistant was sentenced today to 15 years in prison and four strokes of the cane for molesting a 12-year-old girl, who is the cousin of his wife, in 2022.
Sessions Court judge Shafiza Datu Abdul Razak Tready handed down the sentence after a full trial.
The 24-year-old man was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017.
The judge ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt after weighing all the evidence presented during the trial. The prison term takes effect from today.
The court heard that the accused committed the offence against the girl at about 8pm in Nov 2022. The incident took place in the kitchen of a house in Kampung Lintang Baru, Panchor, along Jalan Kuching-Serian.
According to the facts of the case, the matter surfaced on Sept 11, 2024, when the girl was brought to Siburan health clinic for a mental health assessment. Her school counsellor had referred her.
The girl told the medical officer that her cousin’s husband had groped her and tried to drag her into a room, but that she managed to escape.
The medical officer lodged a report and referred the girl to hospital for examination. The ensuing investigation led to the man’s arrest on Sept 12, 2024.
Police said that at the time of the arrest, preliminary checks also found that he was suspected of drug abuse.
Further investigation established that the accused was married to the girl’s cousin and that the girl had lived with her cousin since she was young.
The girl was 12 years old, and the accused was 20 when the offence occurred. She was also told to keep the incident secret.
Deputy public prosecutors Mohd Fadzri Azham Zainudin and Asmawi Nur Haqim Mokhtar prosecuted. The accused was represented by National Legal Aid Foundation lawyers Chai Yuen Hui and Manisha Kaur Toor. — DayakDaily
