MUAR: A 56-year-old unemployed man was charged at the Sessions Court here today with three counts of raping the daughter of his friend five years ago.
Chua Lye Seng, 56, however, pleaded not guilty to all of the charges when he was produced before Judge Sayani Mohd Nor.
According to the charge sheet, Chua was accused of committing the offence against the victim, who was 13 at the time of the incident, at a hotel in the Gambir Commercial Centre at 3.14am on April 1, 2019.
He was also charged with committing the same offence involving the same victim at a lodging house in Bukit Gambar on May 7 and May 13 the same year.
Chua was charged under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code which carries the maximum 20 years' imprisonment and canning for each of the offences upon confiction.
According to the report filed, the accused told the victim he intended to take her out but instead brought the child to a lodging house.
After committing the act, the accused also threatened the victim not to tell anyone about the incident, including her parents.
However, the victim's mother noticed changes in her child and asked what had happened before being informed that she had been raped by her father's friend.
Following the incident, the victim, accompanied by her parents, lodged a report at the Bukit Gambar police station.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Danial Munir prosecuted while the accused was unrepresented.
The court later fixed Nov 24 to allow submissions of documents and for the accused to appoint a lawyer.
The court, however, did not grant any bail since the accused is also facing other charges under Section 39A(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for drug possesion.