Father jailed, caned for indecent acts with daughter By Safrah Mat Salleh

KOTA KINABALU: A 44-year-old father was sentenced to 13 years jail plus three strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here yesterday for inciting his daughter to an act of gross indecency.

Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamed imposed the sentence on the man after he was found guilty of the offence under Section 377E of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of up to five years and whipping, upon conviction.

The man had incited his 14-yearold daughter to an act of gross indecency at a house in Manggatal in November 2015.

In mitigation, counsel PJ Perira, who represented the father, requested for a lenient sentence against the accused.

He said that the accused, who worked in the maintenance area at 1Borneo Hypermall, had no previous conviction and cooperated with the police during investigation.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hafizah Zahidah Abdullah replied that the offence committed by the accused is very serious and heinous in nature and never showed any kind of remorse, which did not entitle the accused to any discount in his sentence.

She said that the accused as a father should have protected his daughter but instead he was the one who destroyed the girl’s future.

Furthermore, sexual abuse involving minors is too rampant nowadays and currently the government is on the move to establish a special court to handle sexual crimes against children in every state of the country, she added.

Therefore, Hafizah urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence against the accused to deter the accused and the public at large from committing a similar offence in the future.