MELAKA: A soldier with the rank of corporal was charged at the Ayer Keroh Sessions Court today with two charges of raping and committing sex against the order of nature to his 11-year-old niece two years ago.
The 41-year-old claimed trial to the charges immediately after they were read in front of Sessions judge Mohd Sabri Ismail.
In the first charge, he was alleged to have raped his niece against her will at a house in Semabok on Dec 29, 2021, about noon.
The charge was framed under Section 376(2) of the Penal Code which carries a minimum jail term of 10 years and a maximum term of 30 years, and whipping, upon conviction.
In the second count, the accused was alleged to have committed sex against the order of nature against the victim at the same venue on Dec 28, 2021, about 11pm.
The charge under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Nazrin Ali Rahim offered bail of RM40,000 with one surety.
However, counsels Cassian Anthony and Kent Tan Chow Teng, representing the accused, pleaded for a lower bail amount as he was providing for two schooling children aged 11 and 14, besides his wife and aged parents, and he only received a salary of between RM1,800 and RM2,100 a month.
Sabri then set bail at RM15,000 and ordered the accused not to harass the victim and witnesses in the case.
He also fixed March 16 for re-mention of the case pending a report on a medical examination of the victim.