APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS GRASS CUTTER’S 28-YEAR PRISON TERM, CANING FOR RAPING SISTER-IN-LAW

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- The Court of Appeal today upheld the 28-year prison sentence and 24 strokes of the rotan imposed on a grass cutter convicted of three counts of raping his sister-in-law.

The 41-year-old man’s final appeal against his conviction and sentences was dismissed by a three-man bench comprising Justices Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Noorin Badaruddin and Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid.

Delivering the unanimous decision, Justice Azman said the victim’s testimony describing the rape was supported by medical evidence, adding that the victim would not make up stories against the appellant.

He added that the 14-year prison sentence imposed by the Sessions Court for each charge was not excessive.

According to the charges, the father of two was accused of raping the victim, who was 12 years old at the time, once in February and twice in July 2021 at a house in Marang, Terengganu.

On Sept 8, 2024, the Sessions Court sentenced the man to 14 years’ jail and 10 strokes of the cane for each charge.

The court ordered the sentences for the second and third charges to run concurrently, after completion of the sentence for the first charge.

However, the man will only be given 24 strokes of the cane based on the maximum permitted under Section 288 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

On May 22 last year, the High Court dismissed the man’s appeal and upheld the decision of the Sessions Court, prompting him to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

At the appeal hearing in the Court of Appeal, lawyer Nik Mohamed Ikhwan Nik Mahamud represented the man while deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Arif Aizuddin Masrom appeared for the prosecution.

-- BERNAMA