KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here on Friday (Sept 20) sentenced two men to 11 years in prison and two lashes of the rotan after finding them guilty of raping an 18-year-old girl in a car in May last year.
Judge Izralizam Sanusi sentenced lorry driver B. Satia, 27, and his friend T. Khanesen, 31, a construction site supervisor, after the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts at the end of the defence case.
"After the court took into account mitigation and weighed the facts as fairly as possible, the request for a good behaviour bond by the two accused was inappropriate.
"Therefore, the court sentences the two accused to 11 years imprisonment with two strokes of the cane," said Judge Izralizam, who ordered the prison sentence to start on Friday.
Earlier, lawyers Muhammad Amin Abdullah and K. Ponnusamy, representing Satia and Khanesen, respectively, applied for a punishment in the form of a good behaviour bond, considering that the two accused are the main breadwinners of their families and are first-time offenders.
"We are also requesting a stay of execution while waiting for an appeal to be filed in the High Court," said Ponnusamy.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Aisyah Mohamed Zanyuin objected to the request for a good behaviour bond because the offence committed is rape, which is a serious offence.
"The prosecution is requesting severe punishment as a lesson to the two accused so that they are held accountable for the offence committed. The prosecution calls for an immediate custodial sentence to emphasize public disapproval, to punish offenders and, most of all, to protect women," said Nor Aisyah.
The court allowed the postponement of the execution of the sentence but increased the bail amount from RM9,000 to RM11,000 to ensure the presence of the two accused in future proceedings.
A total of 14 prosecution witnesses and seven defence witnesses, including the two accused, were called throughout the trial, which started in February.
On May 24 last year, Satia was charged with allegedly raping an 18-year-old girl in a car in the area of an entertainment centre, Jalan Tun Razak, Maluri here, at 5.20am on May 13, 2023.
Khanesen was also charged with committing the same offence against the same victim at 5.06am in the same place.
Both offences were charged in accordance with Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, which provides for a prison sentence of up to 20 years and whipping. – Bernama
