By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, November 18: An unemployed 25-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 10 strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here today after pleading guilty to physically sexually assaulting a girl who was 17 during the time of incident, resulting in her delivering a baby boy.
The accused, who was unrepresented, committed the offence against his then-girlfriend when he was 23, in a rented room next to a Matang shopping centre in January 2023.
Session Court Judge Musli Abdul Hamid delivered the verdict this afternoon.
In addition to the custodial sentence and caning, Judge Musli ordered the accused to pay RM2,000 in compensation to the victim. Failure to pay the compensation will result in an additional six months of imprisonment.
The court allowed the compensation to be paid in instalments of RM500 monthly, beginning December 2025 until March 2026. A further mention date was set for January 13, 2026, for the prosecution to monitor the compensation payments.
Judge Musli also mandated that the accused undergo counselling throughout his incarceration and be placed under two years of police supervision upon his release.
The accused was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and whipping upon conviction.
Based on the facts of the case, the accused groped the victim’s body, including her private parts, before engaging in sexual intercourse with her in January 2023.
The victim was later confirmed to be seven months pregnant when she sought a clinic check-up in early May 2023, prompting her to lodge a police report as advised for the baby’s birth process. This subsequently led to the arrest of the accused.
Investigations confirmed the accused had committed an offence under Section 14 SOACA 2017 against the minor victim.
The victim gave birth to a baby boy on September 3, 2023, and DNA results confirmed the accused as the father of the baby.
The prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Asmawi Nur Haqim Mokhtar. — DayakDaily
