Seven years’ jail, one stroke of the rotan for jobless Papar man who sexually assaulted 14-year-old cousin

KOTA KINABALU (March 4): The Sessions Court here has sentenced an unemployed man to seven years’ jail and one stroke of the cane for committing physical sexual assault against his minor cousin.

Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan convicted the 23-year-old on his own guilty plea to a charge under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

The Section provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and caning upon conviction.

Amir Shah also ordered the accused to undergo rehabilitative counselling for one year while in jail and for him to be placed under police supervision for two years after completing his sentence.

In mitigation, the unrepresented accused said he is the firstborn son of a single mother.

Although unemployed at present, the man said he had applied for various jobs.

Deputy public prosecutor Bryan Francis urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on the grounds of the seriousness of the offence.

Bryan confirmed that the accused had no previous convictions but requested for him to undergo rehabilitation while serving his sentence and to be placed under police supervision after completing the jail term.

During sentencing, Amir Shah questioned why the accused committed such an offence, particularly during the fasting month.

“You’re a diploma holder. You’re a smart person. How can you do this? This is your cousin,” he asked.

Although the accused admitted what he did was wrong, the judge stated the victim in this case must be protected.

Amir Shah said he had taken public interest into consideration as well as the gravity of the said offence.

According to the facts of the case, on Feb 23 at around 3.30am, the accused entered the 14-year-old victim’s room in an unnumbered house in Papar to touch her body and suck her breasts.

The victim had tried to escape but was held by the accused, who also demanded her silence.

However, the victim confided in her mother the next day.

The victim’s mother then filed a police report and brought the victim to a hospital for a checkup.

The accused was arrested on the same day.