KOTA KINABALU: A 27-year-old man was sentenced to 27 years’ jail and ordered to be given 12 strokes of the cane by a Sessions Court here yesterday for two counts of raping a disabled woman.
Judge Dean Wayne Daly passed the sentence on Borhan Laja Idaru who was found guilty of committing the offence in a lorry on March 5 and 6, 2011 at 5pm at Kampung Tajau Laut and Kampung Kimihag, Kudat.
The offence framed under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code is punishable with imprisonment of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
The accused received 12 years’ jail and six strokes of the cane for the first count and another 15 years jail and six strokes for the second count. Both sentences are to be served consecutively.
During mitigation, the defence pleaded for a lenient sentence, informing the court that the accused had apologised to the victim’s family. The defence also asked for the sentences be served concurrently with the five-year jail sentence meted out to the accused for consuming drugs.
Deputy public prosecutor Chow Kiong Siang rebutted saying that the accused is a grown man who should know the consequences of his actions, adding that the victim was a person with disability.
Previously, Borhan’s case was dismissed and he was acquitted by the Sessions Court. However, the High Court ordered that the accused be retried for the same offence, after allowing an appeal from the prosecution against the decision.