Kota Kinabalu: A vegetable seller, whose case was remitted to the Sessions Court by the Court of Appeal (COA) on Monday, claimed trial to two counts of raping his wife’s niece.
The man made the plea before Judge Ummu Khaltom Abdul Samad, when the charges were read to him after the COA had set aside his conviction and sentence.
On the first count, the man is accused of raping the nine-year-old girl at 2.20pm in November 2018 in a house in Kota Belud.
On the second count, he allegedly repeated the offence against the same girl at 2pm on March 7, 2019, also at the same place.
Both offences fall under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of between eight years and 30 years’ jail and whipping of not less than 10 times, on conviction.
The court set June 23 this year for pre-trial case management and the man was released on bail of RM10,000 in two local sureties for each count.
The man was also ordered to report to Kota Belud police station every two weeks and his international passport, if any, to be kept by the court until the disposal of his case.
The court also warned the man not to tamper with any of the prosecution witness and if the court received any formal complaint with a police report that he tampered with any of the witness, his bail will be revoked immediately.
If he failed to report once without valid reason at the Kota Belud police station his bail also will be revoked immediately.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Darcia Jane Romanus appeared for the prosecution while counsel Hamid Ismail represented the man.
