Jail, cane for sex with underage girlfriend

KOTA KINABALU: A 24-yearold foreign man was yesterday sentenced to nine years in jail with two strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here, on a count of statutory rape.

Adik Abdullah, who was brought before judge Azreena Aziz, received his punishment after he admitted to having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend in a house at Rumah Kongsi Impian Telipok Ria settlement, on March 2 this year around midnight.

The offence carries a maximum jail of 20 years jail and whipping under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, upon conviction.

In mitigation, the unrepresented Adik prayed to the court for consideration as his girlfriend was the one who sought him out.

In reply, deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Husna Abdul Halim pressed for a deterrent sentence as Adik is a nonMalaysian citizen who had taken advantage of an underage, impressionable Malaysian girl.

Husna further contended that as an adult, Adik should have been more sensible and prevented this offence from happening.

Although Adik said that his girlfriend was the one who went to him, Husna argued that that point was irrelevant and should not be considered a material of the case.

Therefore, the DPP urged the court to impose a severe sentence to serve as a lesson to Adik himself and also a reminder to would-be offenders.

According to the facts of the case, the victim’s father (the complainant) had lodged a police report on March 6, stating that his daughter had been raped by the accused when she was at his workplace in Tuaran Impian.

Initial investigations found that the victim had run away from home to be with the accused.

Upon her return, the victim was forced by her father to admit that she had sexual relations with the accused on a number of occasions.