PUTRAJAYA (BERNAMA) – The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya, Malaysia, yesterday restored the Sessions Court decision in sentencing a trader to 10 years’ imprisonment for committing physical sexual assault on his 12-year-old stepdaughter. The 40-year-old man will also be given four strokes of the cane.
This followed a decision by the Court of Appeal’s three-man bench in allowing the prosecution’s appeal to restore the Sessions Court decision.
The prosecution’s appeal was against the High Court decision which had reduced the man’s jail sentence to seven years jail. Justice Vazeer said the High Court made an error when reducing the prison sentence from 10 years to seven years.
He said the seven-year jail term was low and that the High Court should consider the relationship between the victim and the offender.
Considering the trend of sentencing, a 10-year imprisonment sentence is appropriate for the offence, he said.
On July 15, 2021, the man pleaded guilty to two counts of committing physical sexual assault on the primary six student in a house in Selangor on April 17 and May 9 and the Sessions Court sentenced him to 10 years in jail with two strokes of the cane for each count.
He was ordered to serve the sentences concurrently, meaning he has to serve 10 years in jail and be given four strokes of the cane.
On June 28 last year, the High Court allowed the man’s appeal and reduced his jail term to seven years. The court maintained the whipping sentence. This prompted the prosecution to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal.