Man sentenced to 36 years in prison for raping his niece

KUALA TERENGGANU – The Sessions Court today sentenced a man to 36 years in prison and 40 lashes for raping and sexually assaulting his minor niece.

Judge Mohd Zul Zakiqudin Zulkifli handed down the sentence to the 44-year-old after he pleaded guilty to all five charges.

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The court sentenced him to ten years in prison for rape; eight years in prison each for the other three rape cases, including 40 strokes of the cane; a further two years in prison and two years of police supervision for a sexual assault offence.

The judge ordered all prison sentences to be imposed separately and sentenced the defendant to a maximum of 24 strokes of the cane in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Mohd Zul Zakiqudin said that the court imposed the sentence taking into account the repeated offenses, the defendant’s relationship with the victim and the defendant’s admission of guilt, which saved the court time.

According to the indictment, the man was accused of raping the then 14-year-old victim four times in January, February, March and May 2023 at two different locations, namely a restaurant and a house in Losong, here.

The father of two was charged under Section 376 (3) of the Criminal Code, which stipulates a prison sentence of up to 30 years and at least ten strokes of the cane.

He was also accused of committing physical sexual assault against the same victim in the same house in December last year and the charge was framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offenses Against Children Act 2017.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Intan Nor Hilwani Mat Rifin urged for an appropriate punishment that would be commensurate with the seriousness of the crimes and could serve as a lesson for the increasing prevalence of sexual crimes.

The unrepresented defendant expressed remorse for his actions and asked for leniency, saying he wanted to take care of his elderly mother. – BERNAMA