A 23-year-old youth was sent to jail for eight years and ordered to be whipped three times by the Court of Appeal here today for raping his former schoolmate almost five years ago.

A three-man appellate court bench chaired by Justice Datuk Seri Zakaria Sam allowed the prosecution's appeal to set aside Wan Ahmed Qayyum Abdul Aziz's acquittal for the offence and substituted it with a conviction.

Justice Zakaria held that the prosecution's appeal had merits.

Presiding with him were Justices Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi and Datuk Kamardin Hashim.

Wan Ahmed Qayyum, who just completed his studies in electrical field, was accused of raping the then 13-year-old girl behind the edge of a drain at Taman Angsana Mantin in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, at 1.20 am on Aug 26, 2012.

He was acquitted and discharged for the offence by the Sessions Court on April 18, 2015, and the High Court upheld his acquittal on March 9, last year.

Deputy public prosecutor Faizah Mohd Salleh argued the Sessions Court judge had erred in ruling that the prosecution failed to provide element of penetration.

She said the victim was sure that there was penetration.

She said Wan Ahmed Qayyum took opportunity to rape the girl who regarded him as her adopted brother.

The sessions court judge had held that Wan Ahmed Qayyum's testimony that he inserted his finger in the victim's private part was reliable and there was no supporting evidence to show that the victim was raped.

Wan Ahmed Qayyum's lawyer Azizul Shariman Mat Yusof submitted the victim could not be trusted as she gave three versions of what had happened.

He said it was consensual and that his client could not be faulted 100 per cent because it was the victim who had asked him (Wan Ahmed Qayyum) to meet her at the place. -- Bernama