KOTA KINABALU: A Timorese man was jailed for 10 years and ordered to receive two strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here after pleading guilty to raping a 15-year and nine-month-old girl.
Sessions Court Judge Monica Linsua imposed the sentence on Rafinus Bata Tukang on Thursday for committing the offence at 7pm on Dec 7, 2025, at a rented room in Inanam.
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The offence under Section 376(2)(d) of the Penal Code carries a prison term of between 10 and 30 years and whipping upon conviction, and the court ordered the sentence to take effect from the date of arrest and referred him to the Immigration Department after serving his jail term.
In mitigation, the unrepresented accused sought leniency, stating that he was the eldest in his family, his mother had died, his father was ill, and he was responsible for his siblings, adding that he was remorseful and that it was his first offence, while claiming the girl had told him she was 18.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Shaferrah Mad Iskim urged the court to impose a heavy sentence, submitting that rape is a serious and prevalent offence and that the victim was below the age of maturity at the time, with investigations revealing the girl had left home to follow the accused, known as Boboy, and later informed her mother that they had sexual intercourse at the rented room.
