KOTA KINABALU (Nov 11): A chief cook was jailed for 14 years and ordered to be whipped three times for raping his former staff three years ago.
Judge Elsie Primus imposed the sentence on Beitohlee Justine, 39, after finding him guilty to a charge under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code.
The indictment provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.
In her reserved judgement, the court found that the accused, who was represented by counsel Bartholomew Jingulam and Jul Hamri Jumhani, had failed to cast doubt on the prosecution’s case.
The accused was convicted of raping the 24-year-old victim in a room of a hotel in Luyang between February 18 – 20, 2019.
The court also ordered for the accused to be placed under police supervision for two years.
However, the accused on Friday managed to obtain a stay of his execution pending an appeal to the High Court here.
The judge granted the stay application with an additional RM10,000 to his previous bail allowed by the court.
The prosecution had called six witnesses to testify against the accused while the defence had called three witnesses, including the accused.