SANDAKAN: A plantation worker has been sentenced by the Sessions Court here to 40 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane for raping his employer’s daughter.
Judge Indra Ayub meted out the sentence against Mohd Ayub Darman, 25, after he pleaded guilty to the three charges read before him.
Based on the first charge, he was accused of raping a 10-year-old girl at a palm oil plantation at a village in the district on Nov 15, 2017.
For the second charge, he was accused of raping the same girl on June 5 last year at a plantation in the district, while the third, he was accused of raping the girl in a bedroom on Oct 5 last year.
The charges were framed under Section 376(2)(d) of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of not less than 10 years and not more than 30 years, and caning.
The accused was sentenced to 10 years and six strokes of the cane for the first charge, 12 years and eight strokes for the second charge, and 18 years and 10 strokes for the third.
Earlier, the accused, who was not represented, pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying he regretted his action and promised to change.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mark Kenneth Netto asked for a just punishment as the offence was serious and involved a child.
The court also ordered the accused to serve his sentence from the date he was arrested.
The accused was also expected to be charged at the same court tomorrow with three charges under Sexual Crimes Against Children Act 2017 and one with entering Sabah without a valid pass.