JOHOR BARU: A man was charged in the Sessions Court here today with raping and having unnatural intercourse with his own child last month.
The 45-year-old accused, however, pleaded not guilty to both charges, which were read by a court interpreter in front of judge Siti Noraida Sulaiman.
In the first charge, the father of five is accused of raping his youngest daughter aged 3 years and 11 months old.
He is being charged according to Section 376(3) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years and up to 10 lashes, if convicted.
For the second charge, the accused is accused of intentionally committing sexual intercourse against the order of nature on the same child.
Prosecution for the second charge was made in accordance with Section 377C of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and whipping, if convicted.
Both acts were allegedly committed by the accused in the bathroom of the family's house near Taman Bukit Mewah, Tampoi here, on Dec 13 last year.
Deputy public prosecutor Danial Munir did not offer any bail against the accused on the grounds that both acts were serious offenses.
"At the same time, the accused lives with the victim who is his biological child and there is a very high probability for the accused to disturb and communicate with the victim," he explained.
The court then agreed not to allow the unrepresented accused to be bailed, before fixing March 12 for mention for case management and submission of documents and appointment of a lawyer.
It is understood that the accused, who is unemployed, was arrested by the police at 11am on Dec 28 last year after the police received a report from his wife, the mother of the child.
The man has no previous criminal record and entered the country legally on a social visit pass.
The incident is said to have happened when his wife, who is a local, was working in Singapore. It is believed that the accused was with the victim and two other children, while the other two were at school.