Kota Kinabalu: A 35-year-old farmer charged with committing physical sexual harassment against his 12 year-old niece, is now waiting for decision from the court whether he will be free from the charge or convicted.
Decision date for the man’s case is yet to be fixed by Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus, as the date would be given once submissions by both parties have been received.
The court ordered the defence to make its submission on or before Oct 31 this year, while the prosecution on or before Nov 11 this year and reply, if any, on Nov 18 through E-review.
The court had given the date for submissions when the defence closed its case after calling four witnesses.
The man is accused of committing the sexual offence by fondling the girl’s breasts and rubbing his genitals on her backside at 11am in November 2018 to May 2019 at a village in Kota Marudu.
The offence, under Section 14 (a) of Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, carries a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping on conviction.
The man was, on Dec 29, 2021, called to enter his defence after the court ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.
About nine witnesses were called to testify in the hearing.
The court ordered the man’s bail to be extended pending the disposal of his case.
In another case, a man was sentenced to five years’ jail and ordered to get a stroke of the cane for taking syabu, repeatedly.
Md Hasmin Lumin pleaded guilty to taking the drug and was arrested on May 28 this year after testing positive for drug at the police station here.
He has several conviction records for taking the drug. The court ordered Md Hasmin to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest and to be placed under police supervision for two years after completing the sentence.
