KUALA LUMPUR: A 33-year-old contract worker has been sentenced to 65 years in prison and 16 strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court after pleading guilty to raping and molesting his adopted child three years ago in Muar.
It was reported that the accused faced five charges, with four of them involving rape and one of sexual assault, read in front of judge Abu Bakar Manat.
"During the time you (the accused) committed (rape and molestation), didn't you think about your wife and children? "Your wife is pregnant, but yet you engaged in illicit affairs."
The judge questioned the accused before imposing a 69-year prison sentence and 20 strokes of the cane.
"Cases like this prioritise the victim over you because of the impact they endure due to these actions. Such cases are still prevalent, and sometimes I don't understand why they continue to happen," he said.
During the sentencing proceeding, the accused's wife, who is awaiting childbirth, and her sister were seen shedding tears.
According to the first and second charges, he was accused of raping and molesting the victim in a car parked in an oil palm plantation in Serom, Tangkak, between 8.40pm and 9pm on Jan 15.
For these offences, the accused was charged under Section 376(1) of the same code, which carries a prison term of up to 20 years and caning, and Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (Soaca) 2017, read together with Section 14 of the same act for each charge.
The third to fifth charges accused him of raping the victim, who was 12 years old at the time, in three different houses in the Muar district from 2021 to 2022.
For these three charges, the accused was charged under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, read together with Section 16(1) of the Soaca 2017, which stipulates a prison term of 20 years and caning for each charge.
Based on the case facts, the accused allegedly committed these acts once a month when the mother and siblings of the child were away from home.
The incident was discovered by the victim's grandmother before she filed a police report.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy public prosecutor Danial Munir, while the accused was not represented.
The accused appealed for a lighter sentence as he told the court that he had to support two children and a pregnant wife with their third child, as well as other family members.
Meanwhile, the prosecution requested an appropriate punishment as a lesson.
The court then sentenced the accused to 15 years in prison and four strokes for the first charge; and three years and one stroke for the second charge. As for the third to fifth charges, each carried a sentence of 15 years and three strokes.
For Section 16(1), the court imposed an additional two years in prison and two strokes for each charge.
All the prison sentences are to run concurrently from the date of the accused's detention on Jan 16.
The court also directed the accused to undergo two years of police supervision upon completion of all sentences under Section 27 of the Soaca.