KOTA KINABALU: A senior citizen was sentenced to seven years' jail and two strokes of the rotan for sexual harassment.
The 61-year-old man pleaded guilty before Sessions Court judge Elsie Primus to two counts of charges.
On the first count, the man was sentenced to three years' jail and one stroke of the rotan for touching his 12-year-old niece's thigh on Oct 25, 2021 at 2am at a house in Kota Belud.
On the second count, he was sentenced to four years' jail and one stroke of the rotan for committing a similar offence against the niece's friend, aged 13, at the same place between 1am and 2am on the same day.
The offence under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
The court ordered the man to serve the jail sentence concurrently and undergo rehabilitative counselling.
The man was also ordered to be placed under police supervision for three years upon completing his jail sentence.
During mitigation, the unrepresented man asked for leniency, saying his wife was sick and his children were still schooling. He also told the court that he had health problems.
Deputy public prosecutor Siti Hajar Mazlan called for a deterrent sentence due to the seriousness of the case.
The facts of the case stated that the man approached the victims separately when they were sleeping at his home.
The victims then lodged a police report and the man was arrested.