KOTA KINABALU: A man who molested and sexually assaulted his stepdaughters multiple times since they were aged six and nine has been sentenced to 36 years in prison by the Keningau Sessions Court on Thursday (Jan 16).
The 40-year-old contractor pleaded guilty to committing the offence on the victims, now 17 and 19, at their house in the interior district of Keningau before Sessions Court Judge Ahmad Fairuz Mohd Puz, who also sentenced him to a total of 22 strokes of the cane.
He was charged under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code which carries a maximum 30-year jail and whipped not less than 10 times if found guilty.
It was learned that the victims were from his wife’s previous marriage and came to live with them after their wedding in 2010. The couple has since had two more children.
Deputy public prosecutor Ling Guong Zhin told the court that the accused had been raping the younger stepdaughter since she was six until she turned 15, and molested the elder sister from the age of nine to 13.
Counsel Timothy Daut pleaded for a reduced sentence stating that the accused understood his wrongdoings and had repented, stressing that he had no prior criminal record and was willing to be rehabilitated to change his ways.
Ling, meanwhile, requested a heavier sentence to serve as a deterrent, adding that the incident would haunt the victims for the rest of their lives.
In his appeal, the accused also requested a lighter sentence, considering that he still had young children who needed their father’s care.
Ahmad Fairuz sentenced the accused to 18 years in prison and 11 strokes of the cane for each charge and ordered the sentences to run consecutively.
