Penampang lorry attendant jailed 16 years, gets two lashes for sexually assaulting teen stepdaughter

KOTA KINABALU (April 7): The Sessions Court here has sentenced a lorry attendant to a total of 16 years’ jail and two strokes of the cane for two charges of physically sexually assaulting his teenage stepdaughter.

Judge Hurman Hussain convicted the 45-year-old after he changed his plea to guilty to both charges while in the middle of the trial.

The prosecution had so far called one witness to testify against him.

On the first count, the stepfather received eight years in prison and one stroke of the cane for touching the girl’s private parts in the living room of a house in Penampang in July 2023, when the victim was just 13 years old.

On the second count, the accused received similar punishments for touching the victim’s breasts and hip in the kitchen of the same house in June 2024 when the victim was 14 years old.

The victim is currently 15 years old.

The court ordered for the jail terms to run consecutively.

The accused was convicted under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and caning upon conviction.

The court also ordered for him to undergo rehabilitative counselling while in prison.

Deputy public prosecutor Fazriel Fardiansyah Abdul Kadir appeared for the prosecution, while the accused did not have legal representation.