KOTA KINABALU: The Magistrate’s Court here yesterday rescheduled the trial of a man to November 5–6 for allegedly inserting his finger into his four-year-old daughter’s vagina.
Senior assistant registrar Dzul Elmy Yunus, who presided as a magistrate, put off the trial of the 30-year-old man at the request of prosecuting officer Inspector Syahrin Ali.
Syahrin told the court that they needed ample time to locate one of their witnesses who is the grandmother of the victim, who was supposed to testify yesterday.
Syahrin also said the witness was a passport holder and they had subpoenaed the witness but not served to her.
In reply, counsel P.J Perira, who represented the accused, urged the court to give his client a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.
The counsel said the prosecution could re-charge his client in court anytime once they managed to locate the witness.
The accused was alleged to have molested his child at a house in Penampang at 9pm in July.
The offence, under Section 354 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum jail of 10 years and whipping and also liable to a fine or any two of the punishments, upon conviction.
The accused is currently released on court bail pending disposal of the case.
In a separate case, the same court issued arrest warrants against three men, for separate charges of possessing and consuming syabu.
The magistrate issued the warrants of arrest after Mohamad Salim, Afendy Anuar and Poh Ann Li failed to appear in court when their cases came up for mention.
They were released on court bail during their first arraignment and the court set October 14 to re-mention Poh’s case to review the warrant of arrest while that of Mohamad and Afendy will be reviewed on November 14.