KOTA KINABALU: A man was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and ordered to be whipped with 11 strokes of the cane, by the Sessions Court here for raping his sister-in-law.
Judge Elsie Primus meted out the sentence on the 55-year-old man after ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, today.
The man who is a passport holder was found guilty of raping the 15-year-old girl on Feb 8, 2021, at 1pm at an unnumbered house in a village in the Kota Belud district.
He was convicted under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code which provides imprisonment between eight and 30 years, and a minimum whipping of 10 strokes.
During the trial at the prosecution stage, nine witnesses were called to testify. The accused and his wife testified at the defence stage.
In seeking leniency, the unrepresented accused told the court that he needed to take care of his five children from his first marriage. He said, his first wife had passed away.
The man further said that he had no children with his second wife. He asked for his custodial sentence to be run from the date of arrest from Feb 19, 2021.
Deputy public prosecutor Tham Pou Jin who prosecuted the case urged for a deterrent sentence as a lesson to the accused.
She among others pointed out that during the trial the victim was initially reluctant to identify the accused. This showed how traumatised the victim was following the rape to the point that she no longer wants to see the accused's face.
The victim also cried during the trial when asked about her feelings because the victim already considered the accused like his father, she said.