KOTA KINABALU: A 54-year-old Indonesian bomoh who raped an 11-year-old girl on the pretext of warding off an impending crocodile attack, has been sentenced to 15 years’ jail and seven strokes of the cane.
Sandakan Sessions judge Zaini Fisal imposed the sentence on Thursday (Oct 10) after Rapi Kinase pleaded guilty to statutory rape.
The offence was committed near a pond in Kinabatangan district sometime in May last year.
Zaini also ordered that the accused be deported after completing his sentence.
According to the facts of the case, the family of the victim had sought the assistance of the accused, a “traditional medicine man”, to treat the girl for an illness.
The accused then told the family he dreamt that the girl would be attacked by a crocodile and that he had to take her to the pond to perform a ritual that would ward off the attack.
The victim’s family was convinced and allowed him to go to the pond alone with the victim.
In another case, a local man pleaded guilty in the same court to three counts of raping a 14-year-old girl last year.
Zaini sentenced Mohamad Yusri Harris, 27, to 10 years’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane for the three charges under Section 375(g) of the Penal Code for having sex with a girl under the age of 16.
According to the facts of the case, Mohamad had sex with the underage girl twice in June last year, in a school parking lot and a hotel room in Sandakan, and again at the parking lot a month later.
She was discovered to be eight months pregnant when she went to the Women and Children’s Clinic in Sandakan on Jan 24.
A report was subsequently lodged. The girl has since given birth.
