KUCHING: The Sessions Court here on Tuesday (June 30) sentenced a 27-year-old office boy to 15 years’ imprisonment and five strokes of the cane for physically sexually assaulting his three-year-old niece in Padawan this month.
Judge Iris Awen Jon handed down the sentence after the accused pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (SOACA).
The offence carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and is also liable to whipping upon conviction.
The court ordered the prison sentence to take effect from the date of the conviction (June 30).
Pursuant to Section 26 of SOACA 2017, the accused was ordered to undergo rehabilitative counselling during his imprisonment.
He was also placed under police supervision for two years upon his release under Section 27 of the same Act.
The incident took place at approximately 6.25pm on June 16 in a room of a house in Taman Malihah.
According to the facts of the case, the victim’s mother was in the living room when she heard her daughter crying briefly.
When she asked the child what had happened, the accused, present at the house, claimed the girl had merely fallen down.
However, while bathing the child later, the mother asked again where she was hurt and the victim replied that her private parts were sore, and that fingers had been inserted into her private parts, and that her mouth had been kissed by the accused.
When confronted by the victim’s mother, the accused admitted to the acts.
The mother immediately took the child to Sarawak General Hospital for further examination and was advised by doctors to lodge a police report.
Investigations revealed that the accused had been living with the victim’s family at the address since 2019.
At the time of the incident, the victim had entered the room where the accused was lying on the bed and was given the accused’s mobile phone to play with before the assault occurred.
Deputy public prosecutor Chuah Kai Sheng pressed for the maximum sentence, highlighting the severe physical and mental trauma inflicted upon the child, which would affect her for life.
“The sexual offence committed against a child victim resulted in trauma of big impact, thus, public interest demands an appropriate sentence to punish the accused and to deter potential offenders from committing the same offence.”
The prosecution also urged the court to take judicial notice of the rising trend of sexual offences against children, noting that 1,959 cases were recorded in 2024, showing a significant increase of 58 per cent from 2022 to 2024.
“A heavier sentence is not only to punish the accused but to give a lesson to the public at large.”
The investigation was conducted by Inspector Mohd Nasya Aidil Jalil. The accused was unrepresented.
