KOTA KINABALU: The Sessions Court here on Wednesday sentenced a man who raped a 12-year-and-seven-month-old girl to 12 years’ jail and six strokes of the cane.
Judge Elsie Primus imposed the sentence on Mohammad Hafiz Jeral, 25, who was found guilty of the crime committed at an apartment in Jalan Sulaman at 10pm on June 10, 2019.
The accused was convicted under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.
However, an application for a stay of the accused’s execution was allowed and the court had maintained his previous bail and sureties, pending his appeal to the High Court here.
The prosecution had called eight witnesses to testify against Mohammad Hafiz, who was represented by counsel Mohd Ari Nadzrah Abd Rahman, since the prosecution’s trial started on January 6, 2020.
In a separate case, a 19-year-old man claimed trial in another Sessions Court here to committing sexual assault against a little boy.
The accused, who appeared before judge Azreena Aziz was accused of asking the victim aged eight to perform an oral sex on him (the accused) at an unnumbered house in Sipitang at about 10am in May 2019.
The alleged offence was framed under Section 14 (b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.
The court fixed May 5 for case management and released the accused on a bail of RM7,000 deposited with RM4,000 with two local sureties.
Apart from that, the court also ordered for the accused, who was a foster uncle to the victim, to report once a month at a police station and his passport be impounded by court if any, pending disposal of the case.