Welder sentenced to 25 years' jail, 20 lashes for raping child with disability

TEMERLOH: A welder was sentenced to 25 years in jail and 20 strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here today for raping a 12-year-old with disabilities.

Judge Manira Mohd Nor meted out the sentence on the 27-year-old accused, who pleaded guilty to two counts of raping his wife's niece.

Manira sentenced him to 10 years' jail and 10 lashes for the first count and ordered the punishment to begin from July 21, while the sentence of 15 years and 10 lashes for the second count will run from the end of the first sentence.

The accused was charged with committing the rapes at his house in Jalan Karak here between 11 am and 12 pm in mid-June and 11 am on July 19.

The charge under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code stipulates a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment and no less than 10 lashes of the whip.

The accused, who was unrepresented, had earlier pleaded the court for more strokes of the cane in the hope that his jail time could be reduced on the grounds that he had a young child.

Deputy public prosecutor Ain Fadilah Md Ali urged the court to consider the fact that the accused committed the heinous crime against a person with disabilities (PwD) while his wife was pregnant.

She said the accused's actions were finally exposed only after the victim confided in her grandmother.

-- BERNAMA