SODOMY HORROR: ‘MONSTER DAD’ CALM AS REMAINING 444 CHARGES ARE READ OUT
Alleged crimes occurred daily for 4 months
UNFAZED by the publicity surrounding him, the 36-year-old accused of sodomising and raping his teenage daughter more than 600 times remained calm as the remaining 444 charges were read to him in court yesterday.
All 444 charges read out were for committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature without consent, under Section 377(C) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ jail and whipping.
The man, cutting a lonely figure as none of his family or friends showed up at court, pleaded not guilty to all charges before judge Yong Zarida Sazali at the Special Courts for Sexual Crimes Against Children.
Proceedings began at 9.08am and ended at 11.50am, with three breaks in between.
With the charges preferred yesterday, the number of offences the man is facing stands at 626, though earlier it had been reported that he would face 631 charges.
On Wednesday, he had been charged with 182 counts under the Penal Code, Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and Section 31(1)(b) of the Child Act 2016.
Speaking softly but fast, court interpreter S. Umma read out one charge after the other to the accused throughout the three hours of proceedings as he stood in the dock.
Every charge read yesterday involved the father sodomising his 15-year-old daughter three times a day, every day throughout January, February, April and June.
The alleged crimes appeared to be a daily routine timed between 6 and 7am, 1 and 2pm, and 11pm and midnight.
The father had stopped committing the offences on May 25, 26 and 27 and continued it from May 28 to July 20.
He allegedly committed all the offences at the master bedroom of a house in Sungai Way, Petaling Jaya.
The accused, who is a unit trust agent, has been under police remand since his arrest on July 26.
His arrest was prompted by the girl’s mother lodging a police report two days earlier.
The victim, who had been living with the father since the parents’ divorce, only revealed the ordeal to her mother when she learnt that her father had planned to take her two younger sisters to live with them.
On Wednesday, he was slapped with 182 charges comprising one count of raping the girl on July 21; 30 counts of physical sexual assault and one count of sexual abuse from July 11 to July 20; and 150 counts of sodomy for the month of March.
He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ jail and liable to whipping if convicted of rape, and a jail sentence of up to 20 years, and whipping, for physical sexual assault under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and sexually abusing the victim under Section 31(1)(b) of the Child Act 2016.
In their objection for bail, deputy public prosecutors Aimi Syazwani Sarmin and Nordalina Ali submitted that it was a nonbailable offence.
Aimi Syazwani said the accused might flee due to the multitude of offences and heavy punishment.
She also said the victim was his biological daughter and the man might escape and harass witnesses and the victim.
The accused pleaded for bail and asked for the amount to be kept low. However, the court denied his plea for bail.
Yong Zarida set Sept 18 for mention of the case.
The case has also garnered the attention of the foreign media.
It has also become a hot topic on social media, with Netizens’ outrage obvious in their comments.
Those who left comments on the New Straits Times’ Facebook page proposed various punishments if he is found guilty.
Many of the suggestions were unprintable.
Numerous comments referred to him as the devil, saying that he was worse than an animal and “sick in the head”, as they demanded that he be buried alive or hanged to death.
There were those, however, who called for the public to be more concerned about the victim’s wellbeing after her ordeal.
Keni Chi questioned the lack of advice on how the victim could be healed and move on with her life.
“Did anyone suggest anything safe and constructive for the daughter to rebuild her life, society’s acceptance of her, her mental and emotional state?
“Let us not forget that there is a victim here. Focus on the efforts to bring her ‘back’ to society.”
Another comment, from Ravi Arumugam, said: “Our prayers should go to the victim who is his own daughter.
“She was brave enough to come out and confess to her mother.”