KOTA KINABALU: The Sessions Court on Wednesday (Oct 4) ordered a man to spend 13 years behind bars and be whipped once after being found guilty of raping his stepdaughter.
The 46-year-old man was handed the sentence by Sessions Court judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim following a full trial where six prosecution and two defence witnesses had testified.
The man was accused of raping his stepdaughter, aged 12, in a village house in the Tuaran district at 2am on March 15, 2020.
He was found guilty under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term of between eight and 30 years, and whipping, on conviction.
The accused was subsequently instructed by the court to serve his custodial sentence from Nov 10, 2020 which was the date of his arrest.
Counsel Nabila Norsahar during mitigation asked the court to consider a lenient sentence for the accused, saying he was a first-time offender besides having a family to look after.
Deputy public prosecutor Dacia Jane Romanus, however, urged the court to instead impose a deterrent sentence because of the rampancy of the offence and seriousness of the case of which the victim was a child.
