Rapist’s 26-year jail term affirmed with additional six lashes

KOTA KINABALU: A man, who failed in his appeal at the High Court here to have his 13 years' jail each for two counts of raping his female relative, be run concurrently, was ordered to be given a total of six strokes of the cane.

Judicial Commissioner Celestina Steul Galid affirmed a total of 26 years' imprisonment imposed on the appellant by the Sessions Court here on September 28, 2016, but allowed a cross-appeal by the prosecution and added six whippings on the appellant's sentence.

The lower court had found the appellant guilty of the two charges under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code and sentenced him to 13 years' jail each plus two years of police supervision after completing his jail terms.

The trial judge had ordered for both the jail sentences to run consecutively, which meant that the appellant would be put behind bars for 26 years.

The appellant, who was represented by counsel Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul Mutolip, was appealing to have his jail terms to run concurrently. However, deputy public prosecutor Husna Abd Halim prayed in the crossappeal that the lower court's decision be upheld and added whipping punishment on him.

On the first to the second counts, the appellant had been convicted for raping the teenage victim at a hotel here on November 6 and 7, 2015, respectively.

The 40-year-old appellant had before this appealed against his conviction and sentence at the High Court here but it was struck out on August 4, 2017.

Then on October 6, 2017, the prosecution's cross-appeal was allowed while an application to reinstate the appeal was dismissed.

The appellant then appealed to the Court of Appeal which had allowed for the appeal to be remitted back to the High Court for re-hearing before another judge.