> 36 years’ jail for raping 15yo stepdaughter

KLANG: A 46-year-old cobbler was sentenced to 36 years’ jail and 18 strokes of the rotan by the Sessions Court 24 June 2009 on three counts of raping his stepdaughter five years ago.

Judge Awang Krisnada Awang Mahmud sentenced the accused after he pleaded guilty to committing the offences against the then 15-year-old at their home in Dengkil.

He admitted to committing the offences between 2am and 3am on Oct 3, Oct 6 and Oct 11, 2004.

He initially claimed trial and his case went to trial with seven prosecution witnesses taking the stand.

On April 24 this year, he was ordered to enter his defence.
The trial was supposed to continue yesterday but the accused decided to plead guilty to all the charges.

In sentencing him, Awang Krisnada said the accused had committed a serious crime.

He then ordered him to serve 12 years’ jail and six strokes of the rotan for each charge.

The jail terms were to run consecutively from the date of his arrest on Feb 28, 2005.

In mitigation, the accused pleaded for leniency saying he had five children to support and his wife was unemployed.

Deputy public prosecutor Siti Syuhada Alwi pressed for a deterrent sentence based on the gravity of the offence.

The victim is the eldest among five children.

The incident came to light after she reported the rapes to a teacher.