KUCHING: At the Sessions Court on Friday (May 19), a man was sentenced to eight years in prison and given four strokes of the cane for sexually assaulting his eight-year-old grandniece.
The 44-year-old defendant, employed as a plantation worker in Simunjan, pleaded guilty to two charges presented before Judge Maris Agan.
The first charge involved the sexual assault of the victim, touching her genitals when she was four years and six months old in a village in December 2019.
The second charge accused the defendant of committing the same offence by hugging the victim, kissing her cheek, and touching her genitals. This incident occurred at the same location on May 13, when the victim was eight years and 10 months old.
Both charges were filed under Section 14(a) of the Child Sexual Offences Act 2017, which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years imprisonment and caning under Section 16 of the same Act.
Judge Maris handed down a seven-year prison sentence and two strokes for the first charge, and an eight-year prison sentence and two strokes for the second charge. The defendant was ordered to begin serving his prison sentence immediately.
Deputy public prosecutor Ruvinasini Pandian handled the prosecution of the case while the defendant was unrepresented by counsel.
