30 years jail for Indonesian worker who raped underage girl

The Sessions Court today sentenced an Indonesian construction worker to a total of 30 years jail and ordered him to be given 20 strokes of the cane for the rape of a 11-year-old girl and carnal intercourse with her against the order of nature.

Judge Datin Kunasundary Marimuthu passed the sentence on Shamsul Ariffin Muhamad, 22, after the accused changed his plea to guilty at the trial today.

She imposed a 20-year jail sentence and 12 strokes of the cane for rape and a 10-year jail sentence and eight strokes of the cane for carnal intercourse against the order of nature.

She ordered that the jail terms run concurrently from March 7 this year.

The two offences were committed at the women's changing room of a condominium swimming pool here at about 4.30pm on March 6 this year.

“The offences were committed with cruel intention. Your action was to satisfy your inner animalistic passion and, due to your inhumane behaviour, your sentence cannot be discounted,” Kunasundary said before passing sentence.

“The accused must be isolated from the public and, for the sake of justice for the family and the victim, you will be locked away for a long time,” she said.

In mitigation, Shamsul Ariffin, who was unrepresented, said he was remorseful and had repented for the offence, and added that he was also taking care of his parents in Indonesia.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Liyana Zawani Mohd Radzi asked for a heavy sentence, saying the offence was a higher degree of rape and that the sentence should serve as a lesson to the accused and the public.

The victim's mother told the court that her daughter was embarrassed and had lost much weight due to stress from the incident.