KOTA KINABALU: The Sessions Court hearing the case of a man charged with raping an underage girl whom he later married, was informed that his DNA was found in the vaginal swab taken from the girl.
“The blood samples labeled with Riduan bin Masmud and the victim’s names matched the profiles of the persons who contributed to the DNA combination,” Chemist Rina Md Nawi, 27, of the Kuching Chemist Department, testified on the second day of the trial.
She was responding to the examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharuddin in the trial of Riduan, who is charged with raping the 12-year-old girl inside a parked car at a roadside in Inanam, Sabah about 10am on Feb 18 this year.
Earlier, Rina said traces of semen matching only the accused’s blood sample were also found on another three exhibits.
“A seat cover and two handkerchiefs had only Riduan Masmud’s DNA,” she said while showing the items before Judge Ummu Khatom Abd Samad.
Answering another question, she said if a person’s DNA was found at a location, the likelihood of the person having been there was very high.
On May 21, the court was told that Riduan had married the girl which caused an uproar from the public. He faces up to 20 years imprisonment and whipping upon conviction under Section 376 of the Penal Code.
Lawyer Loretto J.Padua represented the accused while Datuk Mariati Robert of the Sabah Law Association and Mary Florence Gomez from Voice of The Children Malaysia were present as observers.
The trial resumes today. — Bernama