KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – A Sessions Court in Malaysia on Wednesday (27 Jan) sentenced a man to 1,050 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane for raping his stepdaughter 105 times over a two-year period.
The unemployed man had pleaded guilty to raping his 12-year-old stepdaughter at a house in Sungai Way in the state of Selangor from 5 January 2018 to 24 February last year, as reported by Bernama.
The accused married the victim’s mother in November 2016, after the victim’s biological parents divorced in 2015.
It was reported that the victim was alone with the accused in the house when the incidents occurred. The victim did not tell anyone about the rapes because the accused had threatened and hit her.
She only revealed the incidents after her mother brought her and her younger sister to their aunt’s house.
The accused was arrested on 20 January.
On Wednesday, Sessions Court Judge M. Kunasundary ordered the accused to serve 10 years in jail and two strokes of the cane for each rape charge, with the sentence to run consecutively from the date of his arrest.
In passing the sentence, Judge Kunasundary said the offence was not only grave, it was abominable and had blighted the child’s future.
“I hope you will repent while in prison. You should not have committed a violent act and although the punishment is minimum, the court feels this is sufficient by taking into account the number of charges against you,” said the Judge.
The accused, who was unrepresented, did not appeal over the sentence.
Considering that the case is of public interest, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Qistini Qamarul Abrar earlier urged to impose a heavy custodial sentence and the maximum strokes of the cane on the accused.
“The victim, in this case, was 12 years old when she was first raped by the accused, who then continued to rape her 105 times over a period of two years.
“As stepfather of the victim, he should have been responsible for protecting the victim but instead he destroyed her self-worth. His action will cause life-long trauma to the victim. Incest cases are appalling and condemnable offences and viewed seriously by every level of society, regardless of religion,” she said.
