Ex-hotel GRO gets 13 years' jail, whipping for raping Australian guest

A guest relations officer of a five-star hotel here was sentenced to 13 years' jail and two strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here today for raping an Australian guest at the hotel.

Judge Datin M. Kunasundary handed down the sentence on Roaquin Radzmund Muhammed Redu-an, 27, who is now jobless, after finding that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts against the prosecution case at the end of the defence case.

When handing down the sentence, Kunasundary said she took into account that rape is a serious a heinous offence.

It is more heinous when committed by someone who has been entrusted with the responsibility as a guest relations officer at the hotel, she added.

She ordered Roaquin Radzmund to serve the jail sentence from the date of his re-arrest on Sept 22 this year.

On Dec 2 last year, the Sessions Court had acquitted and discharged Roaquin Radzmund of the rape charge.

However, the prosecution appealed and the High Court ordered Roaquin Radzmund to enter his defence on the charge.

Roaquin Radzmund, then 25, was charged with raping the Australian guest, aged 27, at room No 1007 of a hotel at Jalan Imbi here at 5 am on Oct 19, 2014.

The charge, under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, provides an imprisonment for up to 20 years and whipping.

Deputy public prosecutor Liyana Zawani Mohd Radzi, who prosecuted, requested the court to impose a heavy sentence by taking into account that the accused had taken advantage of his employment at the hotel to commit the offence.

"It is a five-star hotel. The accused had taken advantage by making a duplicate of the room key to enter the room and rape the victim," she added.

She said the act by the accused had also tarnished Malaysia's image, making tourists in Malaysia to feel unsafe to stay in hotels in the country.

In mitigation, Roaquin Radzmund, represented by lawyer James Khong, said it was his first offence. -- Bernama