SRI AMAN: A farmer sought by police for allegedly raping his step granddaughter took his own life by consuming pesticide yesterday.
A team from the Sri Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) found the suspect, 54, lying on the ground in a semi-conscious state near a hut in a padi field in Sembayang here.
Sarawak CID chief Datuk Dev Kumar said the man was frothing at the mouth when he was found at about 11pm last night.
“The suspect was rushed to the Sri Aman Hospital by the investigation team.
“However, he was pronounced dead at the hospital at about 5am today.
“A preliminary investigation by the police and hospital indicates that the suspect committed suicide by consuming a type of pesticide,” Dev said in a statement.
Last Thursday, police were informed by the same hospital of a Form Two student who had attempted suicide by jumping off the first floor of her school hostel.
A medical examination conducted on the teenager, 14, showed that she was five weeks pregnant.
“An initial police inquiry could not ascertain… the identity of the father of the unborn child.
“(But) on Sept 27, (the girl) told a medical social officer at the hospital that she had been raped twice by (her step grandfather) the previous month.
“Shocked by the startling admission of the victim, the medical social officer lodged a police report at the Sri Aman police station,” Dev said.
He added that further police investigation revealed that the first rape incident occurred in early August.
“The suspect had fetched the victim from her hostel to bring her home for the weekend. Instead of taking her home, he took her to a hut in an oil palm plantation and raped her.
“A week later, the suspect raped the victim in the living room of their house while everyone was asleep,” he added.
Dev said the case, which was being investigated under Section 376B of the Penal Code for rape, is considered solved.
“We cannot proceed with the investigation anymore, since the only suspect in the case died,” he added.