Senior citizen jailed, whipped for sexually abusing baby girl

PUTRAJAYA: A senior citizen was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and ordered to be given two strokes of the cane by the Special Court for Sexual Crime Against Children for inserting his finger into an 11-month-old girl.

Judge Mohamad Kamil Nizam ordered Hashim Karim, 68, to serve the sentence from the date of arrest, which was last Aug 22.

He meted out the sentence after the former lorry driver pleaded guilty to committing the offence in a house in Shah Alam at 4 pm last Aug 20.

During mitigation, Hashim, who wore olive-coloured shirt and white short pants, said he had to take care of his schoolgoing child.

Deputy public prosecutor Aimi Syazwani Sarmin, who prosecuted, pressed for a deterrent sentence to serve as a lesson to the accused as it involved an infant.

She said the victim was like a granddaughter to the accused and he should have taken good care of the girl, instead of causing injury to her.

Aimi Syazwani also said that although Hashim was 68 years old, she was seeking the court to mete out the whipping sentence Hashim, adding that it was allowed under the law for sexual offenders.

She also applied to the court to prohibit the media from publishing the identities and information related to the victim under section 14 of Evidence of Child Witness Act 2007. Bernama