KOTA KINABALU: A man was sentenced to 13 years jail and one stroke of the cane by the Sessions Court here for raping his stepdaughter.
Sessions Court judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim meted out the sentence on the 46-year-old man after a full trial.
The man was found guilty of raping the 12-year-old girl on March 15, 2020, at 2am in a house of a village in Tuaran.
The offence under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code provides imprisonment between eight and 30 years, and whipping.
The court ordered the accused to run his custodial sentence from the date of arrest on Nov 10, 2020.
Six prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses were called to testify during the trial.
During mitigation, counsel Nabila Norsahar urged for leniency saying among others that the accused was a first-time offender and had family to support.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Dacia Jane Romanus urged for a deterrent sentence due to the rampancy of sexual offences in Sabah and the seriousness of the case which involved a child victim.