Kota Kinabalu: A jobless man was sentenced to seven years’ jail and ordered to get a stroke of the cane for committing physical sexual harassment against his cousin.
Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan meted out the sentence to the 23-year-old man who pleaded guilty to the charge against him on Wednesday.
The court also ordered the man to undergo rehabilitation counselling while serving sentence for a year and be placed under police supervision for two years after completing the jail sentence.
The man committed the offence against the 14-year and nine-month-old girl by caressing and sucking her breasts at 3.30am on Feb 23 this year at a house in Papar.
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, on conviction.
In handing down the sentence, the court said it had considered public interest, the seriousness of the offence, and the impact on the victim, who was traumatised by the incident, which occurred during the fasting month.
The court added that the sentence was imposed to serve as a lesson to the man and to the public at large, to discourage such offences, which are increasingly prevalent.
During mitigation, the unrepresented man asked for a lenient sentence, saying he was supporting his single mother and his younger sibling, who is still in school.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Francis urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, noting that it was a serious offence and that the victim was the man’s first cousin, as their mothers are siblings.
Bryan submitted that a deterrent sentence was necessary to send a message to the public on the severity of the offence.
The court heard that on the day of the incident, the man entered the victim’s room and committed the sexual harassment.
After the assault, he told the victim not to reveal the incident to anyone and also tried to prevent her from leaving the room, fearing she would tell her mother.
However, later that same day, the victim disclosed the incident to her mother, who then brought her to lodge a police report against the man.
