TAWAU: An Indonesian man was jailed 15 years and ordered to get 10 lashes by the Sessions Court here, Monday, after admitting to raping his stepdaughter, 12, which led to her getting pregnant last year.
Lius Jappa, 41, pleaded guilty before Judge Awang Kerisnada Awang Mahmud to the charge.
The incident occurred in a shared house at Batu 17, Jalan Bukit Quoin near here, at about 8am between August 1 and 30, 2021.
The labourer was ordered to serve his sentence from the date of his arrest on September 22, 2022 and to be referred to the Malaysian Immigration Department after completing his sentence.
Based on the facts of the case, the victim was referred to the Tawau Hospital Emergency Unit by her schoolteacher on September 21, 2022, after suspecting the victim was pregnant.
Following medical exam, it was confirmed that the victim was seven months pregnant.
A police report was later lodged which led to the arrest of the accused.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor, Mohd Suhaimi Suriana asked the court to impose a heavy sentence on the accused, taking into account the public interest, in addition to the trauma faced by the victim.
He said, as a father, the accused should have provided protection to the victim regardless of whether he was the biological father of the victim or not.
He was charged under Section 376 (2)(d) of the Penal Code which provides for a prison sentence of not less than 10 years and not more than 30 years and also subject to whipping, if convicted.
