KUALA LUMPUR: A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to two years in prison and three strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to raping an underage girl and impregnating her two years ago in Kluang, Johor.
Mohamad Haidil Haiqal Abdullah, 20, was charged under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code for rape before Muar Sessions Court Judge Abu Bakar Manat.
He was accused of raping the girl, who was 13 at the time, at a house in Kluang, last May.
In his judgment, Abu Bakar said that even though Haidil and the girl engaged in consensual sex, it was still considered rape because the girl is underage.
"Once you are free, go and look for your child, because it is still your child," Abu Bakar told Haiqal during sentencing.
Prosecution was carried out by deputy public prosecutor Danial Munir while the accused was not represented.
Earlier, Haiqal pleaded for a lighter sentence as he needed to look after his five siblings.
However, the prosecution asked for a sentence that fit the punishment to deter others from committing the same crime.
The court ordered Haiqal's sentence to run from Jan 15 and for him to be placed under police surveillance for a year after his release from prison.