Appeals court upholds 15-year jail term on man for raping stepdaughter

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here today upheld the 15-year jail sentence imposed on a 60-year-old man for raping his stepdaughter.

This was after the man, a retired buggy driver, lost his final appeal to set aside his conviction and jail sentence.

A three-member panel comprising Justices Datuk Has Zanah Mehat, Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Datuk Nordin Hassan also ordered the man to be whipped twice.

In delivering the court's decision, Justice Has Zanah said there was no error made by the Sessions Court judge in convicting the man of rape, which was affirmed by the High Court.

"The 15-year jail sentence for the rape offence, based on the facts of the case, is appropriate," she said in dismissing the man's appeal against his conviction and sentence.

She, however, said the High Court erred when it set aside the Sessions Court's decision in imposing whipping on the man, as Section 289 of the Criminal Procedure Code allows whipping for a person above 50 years old who was convicted of rape offences.

The man was found guilty by the Sessions Court on Nov 12, 2019 and was sentenced to 18 years in jail and five strokes of the rotan for raping his stepdaughter, who was 17 years old then, in a house in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, Selangor in October 2017.

He was also ordered to go for rehabilitation counselling for three years and to be placed under police supervision for three years after he completes serving his jail term.

On Oct 5 last year, the High Court rejected his appeal against his conviction but reduced his jail sentence from 18 years to 15 years and set aside the five strokes of the rotan.

Lawyer Hamdan Hamzah represented the man while deputy public prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad appeared for the prosecution.

-- BERNAMA