Kota Kinabalu: A National Registration Department (NRD) staff, who used his position to contact a boy from Tawau to come to the city for an identification card matter, was jailed 11 years and ordered to get a stroke of the cane for sexually harassing the latter.
Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus meted out the sentence on Sharif Hardi Roman Sh. Miasin after ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt against Sharif.
Sharif was found guilty of performing oral sex on the 15-year-old at 4.40pm on Jan 4, 2022 at the VVIP toilet in the NRD building, here.
He was convicted under Section 14(d) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 provides for a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping, on conviction.
The court also ordered Sharif to undergo rehabilitative counselling while serving sentence and to be placed under police supervision for three years after completing sentence.
Sharif was ordered to serve the jail from the date of his conviction (Thursday) but the court granted his application for stay of execution of sentence pending appeal.
It was revealed during the trial that Sharif had called the boy and his brothers for identification cards and asked the victim to go to the toilet where he performed oral sex on the boy.
During mitigation, Datuk Rakhbir Singh who defended Sharif, asked for leniency saying that his client was a first offender did not interfere with any prosecution witnesses and had diligently come to trial on each occasion to prove his innocence.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Shafeerah Mad Iskim urged the court to impose the heaviest sentence against Sharif taking into consideration the seriousness of the crime.
Nurul Shafeerah submitted that the incident traumatised the victim and would remain a dark chapter in his life.
Seven witnesses were subpoenaed and this indirectly wasted all their time and resources.
