Kota Kinabalu: A 35-year-old man was charged with raping an underage girl.
Rezuan Hamjah pleaded not guilty before Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus to the charge against him on Wednesday.
He is accused of raping the 14-year-old girl at 11pm on Dec 30, 2020 in a bedroom of a house in Kinarut, Papar.
The offence under Section 376 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping, on conviction.
The court set Feb 25 this year for case management and ordered Rezuan to be remanded further.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mas Izzaty Lokman objected to bail Rezuan on the grounds that he allegedly committed a serious offence against the underaged girl.
Mas Izzaty also informed the court that Rezuan knew the family of the alleged victim as he was living nearby the girl’s house and that there was a high possibility he might tamper with the prosecution witnesses.
Rezuan, who was not represented asked for bail to be granted saying that he has a wife and five children, three of them are still schooling.
He told the court that his younger sister was in court to bail him out as his wife and children were in Johor.
Rezuan further said he was from Sandakan and will not tamper with the witnesses.
