A man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison and eight lashes with a rotan by the Sessions Court on Wednesday (Jan 24) for two counts of sexually assaulting an underage girl in Sibu.
Judge Stella Augustine Druce handed down the sentence to the 38-year-old accused, ordering him to serve 12 years in prison and receive four lashes for each charge. In addition, she mandated that the accused undergo rehabilitation counselling while serving his jail sentence, as stipulated by Section 26 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
Furthermore, the man was also placed under police supervision for two years after completing his sentence pursuant to Section 27 of the same Act.
The accused was accused of sexually assaulting the victim without having intercourse at a house in Lorong Ulu Oya 31 around 12:30pm in March 2020 for the first amended charge. Likewise, he was said to have committed the same act on the same victim in June 2020 at about 1pm at the same location for the second amended charge.
Both charges against the accused fall under Section 14(d) of the Act, which is punishable under Section 14 with imprisonment of up to 20 years and whipping if convicted.
