KOTA KINABALU: The High Court here yesterday enhanced the jail sentence of a local man from three years and six months to a maximum jail time of 10 years for molesting a three-year-old girl.
Judicial Commissioner Azhahari Kamal Ramli also increased Niuh Juman’s whippings from three strokes of the cane to five.
This followed an appeal by Deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharuddin against the sentence imposed by the lower court on the respondent.
The subordinate court here had on October 9, 2013, sentenced the 40-year-old respondent (Niuh) to three years and six months’ jail plus three whippings after he changed his plea of not guilty to one of guilty under Section 354 of the Penal Code when the case came up for defence trial yesterday.
The prosecution had called 12 witnesses to testify against the undefended accused.
Niuh admitted to molesting the girl at a house in a village in Likas on September 18, 2012.
The magistrate ordered Niuh to serve his jail term from the date he was charged in court on April 4, 2013.
During the trial, it was revealed that the mother of the victim testified that she came to know about her daughter being molested after she gave her a bath during which the victim complained of pain in her vagina.
The victim’s mother then checked the victim’s panties and found blood on it.
The mother further asked her daughter what happened and the victim told her that “Sky (the nickname of the respondent) inserted his finger into my vagina”.
The medical report of the victim showed that there was penetration into the victim’s vagina.