Duo deny rape charges

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KOTA KINABALU: Two men claimed trial at the Sessions Court here yesterday to separate rape charges.

Both accused persons, who were brought before judge Azreena Aziz, were separately charged under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.

In the first case, Sabdi Abdul, 19, was alleged to have raped a 15-year-old girl in a house at Lok Kawi Putatan at 10am on November 11, 2014.

Earlier, counsel Michelle Usman from the National Legal Aid Foundation, who represented Sabdi, applied for bail on the grounds that Sabdi, whose father passed away presently, is the oldest child in his family and currently waiting for an offer to continue his studies.

However, deputy public prosecutor Husna Abdul Halim objected to bail as the 15-year-old victim had given birth to a child and believed that there was sufficient evidence to implicate him in the case.

In the second case, a 25-year-old self-employed man was charged with raping his sister-in-law aged 28 in a room at a government quarters in Putatan at 11.30pm on February 27.

The court fixed March 21 and 28 this year for case management of Sabdi and the 25-year-old accused, respectively, and released both of them on RM10,000 bail with RM5,000 deposited in two local sureties each, pending disposal of their cases.

Counsel Dominic Chew and Luke Ressa Balang represented the 25-year-old accused.