SIBU: A 31-year-old labourer was sentenced to 30 years’ jail and 14 strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here on Wednesday for two amended charges of raping his stepdaughter four years ago.
Judge Stella Augustine Druce, who handed down the sentence, imposed 13 years’ jail and five strokes of the cane on Kado Nabau, for each charge under Section 376B of the Penal Code.
In addition, under Section 16 of the Sexual Offences Against Child Act 2017, the accused was also sentenced to two years’ jail and two strokes of the cane for each charge.
He was ordered to serve the prison sentences consecutively, effective from the date of his arrest on August 21, 2025.
He would be placed under police supervision for three years after serving his sentence.
Meanwhile, the court also discharged the accused not amounting to acquittal of the third charge of raping the same victim.
The accused also claimed trial to another rape charge on the same victim which was fixed for further mention on October 2.
According to the two amended charges, Kado is charged with having sex with his 11-year-old four-month-old stepdaughter in January and July, 2021, between 6:00 pm and 11:59 pm at a longhouse in Kanowit.
In this regard, he committed an offence under Section 376B of the Penal Code read together with Section 16, Sexual Offences Against Child Act 2017.
Conviction under Section 376B provides for a prison sentence of not less than 10 years and not more than 30 years and also whipping, while Section 16 carries a prison sentence of not more than five years and also whipping of not less than two times.
Based on facts of the case, on July 9, 2025, at about 12:00 noon, the complainant (victim) and her younger sister fled their longhouse.
On August 20, 2025, the complainant was taken by her biological father to the hospital after complaining of stomach ache.
The victim was later confirmed by a doctor to be six months pregnant.
Acting on information received, the police arrested a couple to assist in the investigation.
The investigation found that the victim had been raped by the accused since she was 11 years old in 2021, and that the accused raped the victim in January and July 2025, between 6:00 pm and 11:59 pm.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Cynthia Emmelda Jerry while the accused was unrepresented.
