The four men outside the courtroom after being sentenced yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: Four local men were each jailed for five years and ordered to be whipped once by the Sessions Court yesterday after they were found guilty on a joint charge of raping a teenage girl.
Judge Caroline Bee Majanil ruled that Mohd Rizuan Pangawan, 22, Ismail Alim, 22, Md Azain Azman, 20, and Suffian Shah Amat, 21, had failed to cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
The quartet were found guilty of the charge levelled against them under Section 376 (2) (c) of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of between five years and 30 years, and also liable to whipping, upon conviction.
The four accused persons had raped a 14-year-old girl in a hut on top of a hill in a Menumbok village on Sept 21, 2009.
Majanil however granted a stay of execution pending their appeal to the High Court.
Their bail of RM7,000 with two local sureties each was maintained.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Afzan Abd Kahar had called 14 witnesses to testify against Mohd Rizuan, Ismail, Md Azain and Suffian since the trial commenced on Dec 20, 2011, while the defence produced four witnesses.
Counsel Rakhbir Singh defended all the accused persons.
In a separate case, a local farmer from Pitas will stand trial on Oct 11–12 this year on two charges of raping his niece.
The 27-year-old uncle was charged under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail of 20 years and also liable to whipping, upon conviction.
The first and second counts alleged the accused to have raped his niece, aged 15, in a room at a Pitas village houseabout 11pm and 11.30pm on May 29.
The deputy registrar of the High Court Amir Shah Amir Hassan, who sat as a Session Court judge, released the accused on a bail of RM10,000 deposited with RM6,000 with two local sureties.
The farmer who was represented by counsel Pawai Mondorosun, was also ordered to report himself once weekly to the nearest police station pending disposal of his case.
DPP Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin informed the court that the prosecution would call 10 witnesses to testify against the accused.