KUCHING: Seven friends breathed a sigh of relief when they were released without having to defend themselves by the Sessions Court here on Thursday (Feb 10).
They were charged with gang rape against a 15-year-old teenager which occurred three years ago at Pantai Pandan Lundu.
Judge Jason made the decision after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the seven accused, aged 19 to 31 years, at the end of the prosecution case.
During the incident, three of the seven accused were minors aged 17, while the others were aged 20 to 29 years.
They were charged under Section 375B of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of not less than 10 years and not more than 30 years, if convicted.
Apparently, testimony of the victim and witnesses to the incident are contradictory apart from not being supported by other evidence.
During the trial which began in 2020, a total of seven prosecution witnesses were called to testify, including the victim, police, doctors and two friends of the victim.
However, the trial was adjourned several times following the movement control order (MCO) due to Covid-19 outbreak.
During the case mention on Sept 12, 2019, all the accused pleaded not guilty and were released on court bail of RM10,000 and cash bail of RM2,000 as well as two local sureties.
The court also stipulates for minor offenders to have parents as guarantors.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurfadzlin Mahmad Zulhasnan while the four accused were represented by counsel Hani Iryani Bonny and the rest were represented by counsel Abdul Rahman Mohd Hazmi, Christopher Bada and Roy Gingkoi.
