KOTA KINABALU: A 37-year-old native chief was sentenced to 20 years’ jail and ordered to be given 14 strokes of the cane for attempting to rape his sister and forcing two of his nephews to perform oral sex on him.
Sessions Court judge Azreena Aziz passed the sentence here yesterday after the accused changed his plea from not guilty when he was first faced with the five charges of sexual offences, to that of guilty after the fifth witness was called to testify on the second day of the trial.
Facts of the case revealed that a police report was made on November 9 last year, a day after the complainant had asked the victims what had happened at the accused’s house, to which they relayed to the complainant what had transpired.
In October last year, at about 7pm, the accused had called his 10-year-old nephew to enter his room at an unnumbered house in Kota Belud. Taking off his pants, the accused then asked the victim to help him masturbate and perform oral sex on him. A couple of minutes later, the accused asked the victim to stop and gave the nephew RM100.
For this, the accused was sentenced to eight years’ jail with one stroke of the cane, and three years’ jail with a stroke of the cane for the respective offences.
On the third and fourth counts, the accused was found guilty of committing both the acts on his 11-year-old nephew at 7pm on October 2 last year, at the same house. For this, the court sentenced him to another three years’ jail with 10 strokes of the cane, and another nine years’ jail with one stroke of the cane, respectively.
The accused was also charged with trying to rape his 11-year-old sister in the same month, between 6pm to 7pm at the same house, for which he was given another three years’ jail and one stroke of the cane.
The court ordered that the sentences for the first, fourth and fifth charges be served consecutively and the remaining sentences, concurrently.
Defence counsel Korventt Wheezer E Jomiji said it should be taken into consideration that the accused had changed his guilty plea from that of not guilty to that of guilty.
Additionally, the accused is a father of three children whom he has to care and provide for.
Deputy public prosecutor Chan Quin Yee in asking for a deterrent sentence argued that despite the accused’s change of plea, the law was the law and the offences committed by the accused under Section 377C, 377E and 376 (3)/511 of the Penal Code, were severe.
“A child’s childhood is supposed to be happy and beautiful. However, these three children had been tremendously traumatised by what the accused had done to them and this could, we believe, last for the rest of their lives,” said Chan.