By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Sept 10: A construction worker was sentenced to 10 years in prison and four strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court today after pleading guilty to the physical sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.
Judge Saiful Bahari Adzmi handed down the sentence on 27-year-old Zakaria Hamdin, who was charged with two counts under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017, which is punishable under Section 14 of the same Act.
The section provides for a maximum prison term of 20 years and whipping if convicted.
Saiful ordered Zakaria to serve five years in prison with two strokes of the cane for each charge, with both prison sentences to be served consecutively. He also directed the accused to undergo counseling while serving his sentence and to remain under police supervision for three years upon release.
According to the charges, Zakaria physically assaulted the victim on two separate occasions, on the nights of Aug 27, 2024, and Aug 31, 2024, at a flat in Petra Jaya, Kuching.
Case facts revealed that the victim’s mother (the complainant) received a WhatsApp message from her daughter’s boyfriend (the accused), confessing that he had been intimate with her daughter. Following this, the complainant lodged a police report, leading to Zakaria’s arrest on Sept 4, 2024.
Investigations revealed that the first incident occurred on Aug 27, 2024, when the victim met with Zakaria at his residence. That night, they drank ketum juice, which caused intoxication, and the victim only remembered Zakaria kissing her and touching her breasts.
On the second occasion, on Aug 31, 2024, the victim consumed alcohol with Zakaria, became intoxicated, and later discovered a ‘love bite’ on her breast the following day.
A urine test conducted on Zakaria revealed he was positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine.
Additionally, Zakaria has a prior criminal record under Section 380 of the Penal Code for theft, Section 379 for theft, and under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Norshafatihah Nor Azmi handled the prosecution, while the accused was not represented by a lawyer. — DayakDaily
