KUCHING: The High Court here today has allowed partly for the jail term of a 53-year-old man from 54 years to 18 years after allowing his appeal against the sentence imposed by the Sessions Court for sexually assaulting his 13-year-old stepdaughter on three consecutive days.
Judge Wong Siong Tung ruled that while the individual terms for each charge were maintained, they would now run concurrently instead of consecutively.
The man’s whipping sentence was also reduced from 24 strokes to six strokes.
The appellant had previously pleaded guilty to three charges of physically sexually assaulting the victim by caressing her breasts and touching her private part for sexual purposes.
The offence was committed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (Act 792) and read together with Section 16(1) of the same Act.
The offences occurred on Oct 4, 5 and 6, 2025, at about 10pm in a room at a house in Kampung Merembeh, Bau.
The Sessions Court previously had imposed 18 years’ imprisonment and two strokes of the cane for each charge, ordering all terms to run consecutively as the offences were committed on separate days and did not strictly form a single transaction.
In allowing the appeal, Justice Wong said the ruling, which held that the “one-transaction rule” is not absolute and that the ultimate consideration is the “totality principle”.
The judge noted that the offences involved the same complainant, the same location, substantially the same conduct, and were committed over a closely connected period of three consecutive days.
“More importantly, the appellant was 53 years old when sentenced and would complete the 54-year term only after reaching more than 100 years of age, well beyond the ordinary span of human life.
“In its practical effect, the cumulative sentence is crushing and disproportionate,” he said.
The judge ordered the imprisonment terms for all three charges to run concurrently, maintaining the sentences of rehabilitative counselling and two years of police supervision.
The man’s crimes finally caught up with him after years of silence and suffering endured by the victim, who had been subjected to abuse since she was only eight years old.
The case came to light in 2025 when the now-13-year-old victim found the courage to speak out.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Azahari Yusof appeared for the prosecution, while the appellant was represented by Tiong Ing Neng, Alex Kong and Patrick Voon.
