SANDAKAN: A 50-year-old fisherman was sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison and 44 strokes of the rotan by the Sessions Court here on Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of raping and committing unnatural sex acts on his underage stepdaughter.
Judge Roslinda Razali handed down the sentence after the accused admitted to two charges of the sexual crimes.
For the first charge, the accused faced a charge under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code for raping his stepdaughter, who was then eight years old. The incident took place at their home in Kampung Sim-Sim in May 2023.
The second charge falls under Section 377 of the Penal Code for committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature by penetrating the victim’s anus. This offence occurred at the same location on 29 April 2026, when the victim was 11 years old.
The case came to light after the victim confided in a school friend. The friend then informed a teacher, who subsequently alerted the victim’s biological mother. The mother lodged a police report on the day of the second incident, 29 April 2026.
According to the prosecution, investigations revealed that the accused had been committing the acts repeatedly, though the victim could only recall the two specific instances.
On the first charge (rape), the court sentenced the accused to 20 years in prison and 20 strokes of the rotan. He was also given an additional one-year jail term and two strokes of the rotan under Section 16(1) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 for the act of physical sexual assault.
For the second charge under Section 377 of the Penal Code (unnatural sex), the court sentenced him to 18 years in prison and 20 strokes of the rotan, along with another one-year jail term and two strokes of the rotan under Section 16(1) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
The judge ordered the prison sentences for Section 376 and 377 of the Penal Code to run concurrently, starting from the date of his arrest.
The court further ordered that upon completion of his sentence, the accused be referred to the Immigration Department to be deported back to his country of origin.
The prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Yuvan Bharathan. – James Leong
Policemen escort the fisherman from the courtroom following the verdict of the cases.
