MUAR: A 30-year-old car wash worker apologised today after pleading guilty to a rape charge involving a teenage girl last year.
Ikhmal Rizza Abu Bakar, who faced two charges, expressed his remorse through his lawyer during the appeal, following the reading of the charge by an interpreter before Judge Sayani Mohd Nor.
"I am sorry, I have repented," he said.
According to the charges, Ikhmal was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl at a commercial centre in Bukit Gambir, Tangkak, between 2pm and 3pm, sometime between July and August of last year.
The accused was charged under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and caning for each charge, if convicted.
The facts of the case reveal that Ikhmal had met the victim, a student, through social media before inviting her to meet in person.
The victim was raped on two separate occasions, which led to a pregnancy and the birth of a baby boy earlier this year.
A DNA test on the baby confirmed that both the accused and the victim were the biological parents of the child.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Danial Munir and Diyana Najihah Muhamed Fauzi, while the accused was represented by Amalia Marsita Hamdan from the National Legal Aid Foundation.
The court sentenced Ikhmal to six years in prison and two strokes of the cane for each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently from the date of his arrest on Aug 25.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the accused to undergo counseling throughout his imprisonment and to be under police supervision for two years after completing his sentence.