Self-employed charged with abetting friend to sexually assault wife in Tuaran

KOTA KINABALU (Feb 4): A man claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to abetting a friend to commit physical sexual assault against his wife.

The self-employed accused, 35, entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan to a charge under Section 109 of the Penal Code read together with Section 377CA of the same Code.

Meanwhile, the man’s friend claimed trial to a charge of sexual connection by object, framed under Section 377CA of the Penal Code.

Both accused face up to 30 years’ imprisonment and possible fine, if convicted.

According to the charge sheet, the first accused allegedly inserted the second accused’s finger into the private part of his (first accused) wife.

The offence allegedly took place in the living room of a house in a village in Tuaran at around 5.45am on Jan 23, 2026.

Pre-trial case management was set for March 4, 2026, with the court denying the unrepresented duo bail.

Separately, a school cook pleaded not guilty in the same court to a charge of raping a teenage girl.

He was charged with committing the offence against the 14-year-old victim, said to be his girlfriend, in a hotel in Tuaran at around 3pm on Jan 10, 2026.

The charge, under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, provides for up to 20 years’ jail and whipping, upon conviction.

The court also fixed March 4 for case management and ordered to be further detained in custody pending disposal of his case, after the prosecution informed that the accused worked in the same school attended by the victim.