KOTA KINABALU: The Sessions Court here yesterday jailed a local man for five years for trying to rape a woman last month.
High Court deputy registrar Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim, who sat as Sessions Court judge, imposed the sentence on Sapiri Abdul Mutalib, 52, after he pleaded guilty to attempting to rape the 26-year-old woman at the entrance of Jalan Kampung Rampayan in Menggatal on May 25.
The unrepresented Sapiri was convicted under Section 376 (2) (b) of the Penal Code, read together with Section 511 of the same Code, which provides for a jail term of up to 10 years and also liable to whipping, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Aida Jaafar Mad Ariff told the court that according to the facts of the case, the accused had pointed a knife at the victim who was walking there and grabbed her to the bushes and later forced her to take off her clothes.
She also said that as the accused was about to take off his pants the victim pushed the accused and then she fled from the place naked and sought help. Three passers-by helped her.
Noor Hafizah ordered Sapiri of Kampung Rampayan Laut, Menggatal, to serve his sentence from the date of his arrest on May 26 this year.