TAWAU: A 52-year-old Indonesian man was sentenced to 15 years’ jail and five strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here yesterday for raping his nine-year-old niece.
Judge Egusra Ali meted out the sentence on the accused who pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 376(2) of the Penal Code which provides for imprisonment of not less that five years and not exceeding 30 years and whipping.
The accused was charged with raping the girl on July 15 this year between 8am to 9am at an unnumbered house at an oil palm plantation in Kampung Melanta Tutup, Semporna.
Prosecuting officer Inspector Joan Lee told the court that the accused worked for the victim’s mother, who is the accused’s cousin. He helped to maintain the plantation.
On the morning of July 15, the accused wanted to go to Semporna town to do some shopping and invited the victim to accompany him. The victim’s mother and her stepfather allowed her to go and asked her to buy nails.
Before going to town, the accused told the girl to stop at his house about 300 metres away from her house.
At first the victim waited under the house and the accused told her to come up but she refused.
He then carried the victim who was struggling into the house and raped her.
After the incident, the accused warned the victim not to tell her parents or she would be harmed, but she decided to tell her parents after the accused moved from Kampung Melanta Tutup area.
A police report was lodged by her mother on August 11 and on the same day at about 12.30pm, the accused was detained at an unnumbered house at Kampung Salimbangun, Semporna.
Egusra ordered the sentence to run after the accused has served his jail sentence for entering the country illegally.