Kota Kinabalu: A 40-year-old man, who committed physical sexual harassment against a seven-year-old girl, was sentenced to six years and ordered to get two strokes of the cane.
Sessions Court Judge Hurman Hussain meted out the sentence to Jaiman Keminlian who changed his plea and pleaded guilty to the charge against him during the first day of his trial on Monday.
The court ordered Jaiman to serve the jail sentence from the date of his conviction.
Jaiman committed the offence by touching parts of the girl’s body at 4.10am on Jan 16, 2024, at a house in Kg Likas, here.
The offence under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
In mitigation, Jaiman, who was unrepresented, asked for leniency, saying his father had passed away and he needed to care for his ill mother and his brother, who suffered a stroke.
He also requested that his sentence be served from the date of his arrest.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Fazriel Fardiansyah Abdul Kadir urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, citing the seriousness of the offence.
Fazriel also submitted that the court should consider public interest, to show that such offences would not be tolerated, and highlighted the trauma suffered by the victim, as Jaiman had entered the house late at night when she was not clothed.
The court heard that on the day of the incident, Jaiman entered the house, pulled the victim by her hands and brought her outside.
At the time, the victim was sleeping in the living room and was not wearing any clothes, using only a towel to cover herself.
Jaiman released the victim after she shouted and then fled the scene.
He was later arrested following a police report.
