KOTA KINABALU: A married man who raped his sister was sentenced to 12 years' jail and 10 strokes of the rotan.
Sessions Court Judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim imposed the sentence on the 24-year-old accused when the case came up for sentencing today.
The man who has two wives admitted to raping his biological sister who was aged 13 years and four months old at a house in Tuaran between 10pm and 12 midnight in early January 2020.
He was convicted under Section 376 (3) of the Penal Code which provides imprisonment for a term not less than eight years and not over 30 years, and whipping of not less than 10 strokes of the rotan.
The facts stated that the victim was raped by her brother since she was 12 years old until early January 2020.
The incident came to light after the victim told her sisters and one of the sisters suggested lodging a police report, which led to the arrest of the accused.
Further investigation revealed that the accused had threatened to harm the victim if she told anyone about the wrongdoing.
In mitigation, the man who was represented by counsel Farazwin Haxdy asked for a lenient sentence saying he was a first-time offender and was remorseful.
Farazwin said the man apologised for his wrongdoing and asked for the custodial sentence to begin from the date of arrest - June 5, 2020 - and that no whipping be imposed on him.
She also told the court that the man has two wives and his youngest child was aged one.
In reply, Deputy public prosecutor Nur Faezah Jafry urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence against the accused to commensurate with the serious offence.
Nur Faezah said the accused, as a biological brother, should have protected the victim, but instead he had been raping his sister since she was 12.
Thus, a heavy sentence must be imposed on the accused to serve as a lesson to him and would-be offenders and a warning that such offence is not taken lightly due to public interest.