KOTA KINABALU: An unemployed man was charged in the Tawau Sessions Court Tuesday (May 14) with molesting his 12-year-old daughter in early March this year.
The 33-year-old accused, however, pleaded not guilty after the court interpreter read the charges before Sessions Court Judge Rosli Ahmad.
Based on the charge sheet, the biological father had assaulted his daughter in an unnumbered house in a village in Semporna at around midnight on March 5.
He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years or a fine or caning or any of the two punishments.
According to the facts of the case, the father scolded the victim for coming home late on the day of the incident.
The father, who accused the victim of having a sexual relationship with her male friend, had attempted to remove her trousers on the pretext of wanting to examine her private parts.
However, the victim struggled and managed to escape before reporting the incident to his stepmother, who then filed a police report on the same day, according to the facts of the case.
The prosecution was handled by the Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Suhaimi Suryana while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.
The accused had earlier told the court that he did not have a lawyer and informed the court that the victim had withdrawn the police report against him.
The court set June 11 for the case to be mentioned again and for the accused to appoint a lawyer.
