Marudi labourer who sexually assaulted 8-year-old step-granddaughter gets 20 years’ jail, eight lashes

MIRI (Feb 13): The Sessions Court here has sentenced a labourer to 20 years in prison and eight strokes of the cane for sexually assaulting his step-granddaughter.

Sessions Court Judge Afidah Abdul Rahman convicted the 60-year-old on his own guilty plea to two charges under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, read together with Section 16 of the same Act.

The court also ordered the man to undergo police supervision for two years upon completion of his prison sentence.

Section 14 provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and caning, while Section 16 provides for an additional prison term of up to five years and not less than two strokes of the cane if the offence is committed by a person in a position of trust in relation to the victim.

Based on the facts of the case, the man was found to have assaulted the victim twice for sexual purposes.

The offences were committed on Sept 19, 2025 and Oct 15, 2025 at a village in Marudi, when the victim was eight years and 11 months old in the first incident and nine years old in the second.

The man was arrested at 8pm on Nov 27, 2025 following a police report lodged by the girl’s school on Nov 24, 2025.

The incidents occurred when the victim had returned from her hostel to her village for the holidays.

Deputy public prosecutor Marvind Kaliyani appeared for the prosecution, while the accused was not represented by counsel.