Filipino gets nine years, one stroke for attempted rape

KOTA KINABALU: A Filipino, who tried to rape a woman at her house by sneaking in when her husband was not there, was sentenced to nine years’ jail and ordered to be given one stroke of the cane by the Sessions Court here yesterday.

Sulaiman Ismail, 44, admitted before judge Ainul Shahrin Mohammed to attempting to rape the victim by taking off her pants at 2.30am at a house along Jalan Nountun, Inanam.

The charge, under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code, provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.

According to the facts of the case, on the incident day, the victim’s husband had gone to fetch water at a pipe near their house.

The victim, who was already asleep, suddenly woke up when she felt the accused trying to take off her pants, while his other hand covered her mouth.

The accused then hugged and kissed the victim who shouted, prompting the accused to let her go and ran off.

Her husband, who heard the shout, immediately rushed home and after his wife had told him what had happened, both of them then went to lodge a police report.

In an unrelated case, a businesswoman was fined a total of RM4,500, in default, 14 days’ jail by the same court for two counts of possessing unregistered healthcare products and cosmetics without notifications.

The judge fined Sapariah Sinin, 48, RM2,500 and RM2,000, both in default, seven days’ jail for her first and second charges respectively after the accused admitted to committing the offences at her shop in Inanam on January 22.