Rapist fails to have jail sentence reduced

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KOTA KINABALU: The High Court here yesterday dismissed a 68-year-old local man’s application for a reduction of his 10 years’ jail sentence for raping his grandchild.

Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, also ordered the man to be given 10 strokes of the cane after allowing the prosecution’s criminal revision application for whipping to be imposed on him.

Malanjum dismissed the man’s appeal against the sentence imposed by the Keningau Sessions Court on ground that it was already a lenient sentence.

In granting the criminal revision application, he held that lower court had erred in not imposing the 10 strokes of the cane as under the new amendment, it is mandatory.

Malanjum also held that if the appellant is unfit to be whipped during the execution of the 10 strokes of the cane, the prison officer could write a letter to the court to apply for a revision of the whipping.

He made the order after deputy public prosecutor Uma Devi Balasubramaniam had earlier on tendered the man’s medical report from the prison which stated that the latter was unfit to be whipped.

The court on Monday deferred its decision on the appeal and criminal revision application to yesterday pending the production of the man’s medical report.

The Keningau Sessions Court had on March 23, this year imposed the 10 years’ jail on the man after he pleaded guilty to raping his grandchild who was then 15 years and six months old, at a house in Sook, Keningau about 12pm on September 13, 2010.

He was convicted under Section 376 (3) of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term of between eight and 30 years and is also be punished with whipping of not less than 10 strokes.

The man was unrepresented by any lawyer.