KUCHING: A single father of two was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ten lashes of the rotan today (Oct 24) after he was found guilty of raping his biological daughter until she became pregnant and gave birth, three years ago.
Session’s Court Judge Jason Juga meted out the order to the 45-year-old accused after finding that the prosecution has proven the case beyond reasonable doubt at the end of the defence’s case.
He also ruled that the accused serve the prison sentence effective today.
According to the charge sheet, he had allegedly raped a 12-year-old victim in a house in Batu Kawa here, around June 1 to June 30, 2019.
For the charge, the accused was prosecuted according to Section 376(3) of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to 30 years and up to ten lashes of the rotan, if convicted.
It is understood that a police report was lodged by a doctor after discovering that the victim who was still under age, gave birth to a baby boy.
After the victim gave birth to her child, a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test was performed and a report from the Malaysian Department of Chemistry confirmed that the victim and the accused were the parents of the baby.
In the mitigation, the accused’s counsel Fung Lee Fook appealed to the court for a reduced sentence as the accused was categorised as a disabled person (OKU) after an incident in 2014, where he fell from the ceiling of a house while working as a carpenter.
Since the incident, doctors have confirmed that the accused suffers from fibromyalgia which causes permanent disability and the accused is unable to work to support his family.
However, deputy public prosecutor Norshafatihah Nor Azmi requested that a deterrent sentence be imposed as it is necessary to take into account the trauma experienced by the victim who is still a child, in addition to being a mother at a very young age.
In addition, as a respected father, it is his responsibility to protect his daughter’s honor but he has betrayed that trust.
A total of eight witnesses were called from the prosecution to testify in the case while, only one witness from the defence.
