KUCHING: A farmer was sentenced to a total of 30 years’ imprisonment and 18 strokes of whipping by the Sessions Court here today after pleading guilty to three counts of raping a 15-year-old girl.
Judge Iris Awen Jon handed down the sentence on the 28-year-old accused, who was unrepresented, after he admitted to committing the offences on three separate occasions in February, April and May this year.
On each charge, the accused was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane, bringing the total to 30 years imprisonment and 18 strokes of whipping.
The court ordered all three sentences to run consecutively.
The court also ordered the accused to undergo counselling during his detention period under Section 26 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017 and to be placed under police supervision upon his release pursuant to Section 27 of the same Act.
The accused was charged under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and whipping upon conviction.
Charge sheet stated that the offences took place inside a white Isuzu single cab four-wheel-drive vehicle at a plantation area in Serian.
The first incident occurred on February 17, the second in mid-April, and the third on May 16.
Facts of the case revealed that the matter came to light on June 6 when the victim’s mother was informed by her sister that her daughter had been seen with the accused.
The victim initially denied the allegations but was later found to have secluded herself in her room, prompting the mother to lodge a police report.
The victim was subsequently taken to hospital for a medical examination.
A clinical specialist from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Serian Hospital confirmed the presence of the tears on the victims’ private parts.
The accused was arrested on June 18 by police from the Serian District Police Headquarters’ Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Investigations showed that the accused and the victim had been in a relationship prior to the incidents, and the accused admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim on all three occasions.
During mitigation, the accused pleaded for leniency, citing his responsibility as a farmer helping his father and his sick mother who required care.
He told the court that he had been in a relationship with the victim for three years since 2023 and that they were neighbours from the same village.
At the time of the relationship between the victim and the accused, it was understood that the accused had married another woman under customary law.
Deputy Public Prosecutor, Chuah Kai Sheng, urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, noting that statutory rape has become a social problem in today’s society.
He stressed that under the law, a person under the age of 16 has no legal capacity to consent to sexual activities, and consent is not an essential element in statutory rape cases.
The case was investigated by Inspector Uthman Affan Abdoll Kader.
