By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Aug 4: A 35-year-old labourer was sentenced to 17 years in prison and 20 strokes of the cane today after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting his 10-year-old stepdaughter and forcing her into acts of gross indecency.
Sessions Court Judge Musli Abdul Hamid handed down the sentence following the accused’s guilty plea to two amended charges.
The court ordered all jail terms to run concurrently starting from the date of conviction, resulting in an effective sentence of 17 years’ imprisonment and 20 strokes of the rotan.
The offences took place at a village near Kuching on the evening of May 29.
Under the first amended charge, framed under Section 377E of the Penal Code read together with Section 16(1) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017, the accused exposed his genitals and forced the victim to perform oral sex.
For this, Musli sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment and eight strokes under Section 377E, alongside an additional two years and two strokes under the Section 16(1) enhancement provision.
For the second amended charge, under Section 14(a) of SOACA 2017 (physical sexual assault) also read with Section 16(1), the man performed oral sex on the minor. The court imposed 15 years’ jail and eight strokes, plus two years and two strokes under Section 16(1).
According to the facts of the case, the victim was bathing in her home when her stepfather walked into the bathroom, removed his underwear, and forced her into the acts. When she attempted to resist, he threatened to beat her if she told her mother.
Earlier that evening, the accused had driven the victim’s mother to a hair salon in Bako, leaving the 10-year-old alone with him and her four-year-old stepsibling.
Traumatised by the incident, the victim remained silent for over a week. On June 8, she confided in three school friends, who then reported the matter to a teacher. The teacher contacted the girl’s mother, urging her to file a police report.
In a separate proceeding at the Magistrate’s Court, the accused also pleaded guilty to criminal intimidation under Section 506 of the Penal Code for threatening his stepdaughter.
Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan sentenced him to 24 months’ imprisonment, ordering the term to run concurrently with the Sessions Court sentence.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Chuah Kai Sheng and Ahmad Fauzulutfi Suriani appeared for the prosecution. The accused was unrepresented. — DayakDaily
