KOTA KINABALU: A 39-year-old man who was refused bail by the Sessions Court for an incest charge has been allowed a RM10,000 bail following an appeal at the Kota Kinabalu High Court.
High Court judge Justice Amelati Parnell granted the bail Tuesday (July 25) after allowing criminal revision after Sessions Court judge Amir Shah turned down the bail application on May 16.
Judge Parnell allowed bail with two sureties pending disposal of the trial.
The accused was also ordered to report to a police station at the end of each month and surrender his international passport.
The accused, a general worker, was charged with committing incest on March 27 this year with a 12-year-old girl under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code at a house in Manggatal here at about 7am on March 13, 2023.
The offence carries a maximum punishment of eight to 30 years' imprisonment and at least 10 strokes of the rotan.
The accused, who was initially unrepresented, applied for bail at the Sessions Court through counsel Datuk Seri Rakhbir Singh but it was denied on May 16.
He filed for criminal revision at the High Court but the case court could not proceed on July 3 as the notes of proceedings and grounds of decision from the Sessions Court judge were not available.
The matter was raised by the accused's counsel during a hearing on July 23 when he informed Justice Parnell he has yet to receive the notes of proceedings from the Sessions Court judge.
In his submissions, Rakhbir said that the accused should not languish in the lockup and be denied his constitutional right to bail.
