12 years’ jail, five strokes for man charged with rape

MIRI: A man was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and five strokes of the cane by the Session Court for raping his underage girlfriend.

Judge Steve Ritikos passed the sentence after considering several aspects of the case including the suspect’s guilty plea and appeal, facts of case, seriousness of the offence, and public interest.

Mohd Faizul Mohd Faizal, 24, from Kampung Cina, Marudi, was charged under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code which carries a jail sentence up to 20 years and whipping if found guilty.

Based on the fact of case, the victim who was 14 years old on Sept 11, 2015, reported to the police that she was raped by the accused.

Acting on information received, the police arrested Faizul on Sept 14, 2015 at a house in Kampung Cina on suspicion of his involvement in the case.

Police investigation revealed that the victim and the accused had known each other since April 2014, and had been having sex several times.

On Sept 11, 2015, Marudi Hospital confirmed that the victim was five months’ pregnant and gave birth on Jan 7, 2016. DNA test carried out on the baby’s blood sample matched the blood sample of the accused.

Faizul pleaded for liniency, saying it was his first offence.

During the earlier mention of the case, he (Faizul) pleaded not guilty, resulting in the court to set several trial dates.

During the final trial yesterday, the prosecution called in two witnesses to testify. Faizul later informed the court that he would like to change his plea to guilty.