10 years’ jail for raping ‘lover’
KOTA KINABALU: A Timorese was jailed for 10 years by the Sessions Court here yesterday for raping a woman, whom the accused claimed is his lover.
Judge Azreena Aziz imposed the sentence on Adrianus Simo Latu, 21, after finding him guilty of raping the victim, an IMM13 holder, at a workers’ quarters at a factory in Inanam on December 8.
In her reserved judgement, the trial judge held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The accused, who earned a living by making couch before the incident, was convicted under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.
In pleading for a lenient sentence, counsel Rizwandean Bukhari M. Borhan, who defended the accused, submitted that his client was remorseful for what he had done.
The counsel explained that the sexual intercourse between the accused and the victim was consensual in nature as the accused claimed in their words that they were in a relationship (boyfriend and girlfriend) at that time.
Rizwandean also said that there was no violence involved in the case and suggested to court that an appropriate sentence should be between five to eight years.
The counsel added that his client had been sentenced to four months’ jail on May 8, 2017 for an offence under the Immigration Act.
In reply, the prosecution urged court to impose a deterrent sentence on the accused and a consensual sex as submitted by the counsel was not a mitigating factor.
The prosecution had called six witnesses to testify against the accused and the defence had two witnesses, the accused and her mother.
The trial had commenced on August 9, 2017 where the accused was called to enter his defence on November 16, 2017 after the court ruled on November 13, 2017 that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the accused.