KOTA KINABALU: A young man was sentenced to 20 years jail and ordered to receive three strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here for two counts of raping his teenage cousin earlier this month.
The incidents occurred when the 21-year-old man sent the 14-year-old victim to her home after attending their aunt's wedding on May 5.
The first incident took place at a public place, which was a bus stop in Papar, at midnight. The accused had stopped his motorcycle at the bus stop at 12.30am and raped the victim there.
The second occasion occurred when the accused sent the victim to their other aunt's house in Papar at 3pm.
Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan convicted and sentenced the man under Section 376 (d) of the Penal Code.
The indictment provides for a jail term of up to 30 years and whipping, upon conviction.
For the first charge, the man was sentenced to 10 years jail plus whipping, while for the second charge, he received another 10 years in prison plus two strokes of the cane.
The court ordered the accused to serve his jail terms consecutively and to be placed under police supervision for one year after completing his jail sentences.
Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Al-Hakim Abdul Razak prosecuted while the accused was unrepresented.
In mitigation, the accused asked for a lenient sentence, taking into consideration that he was a first time offender.
The prosecution, however, urged for a deterrent sentence due to the seriousness of the offence as one of the incidents took place in a public place.