SEREMBAN: A former bank officer who forced his wife into prostitution to pay off his debts has been jailed seven years by the Sessions Court.Judge Rushan Lutfi Mohamed also ordered the 35-year-old man to be whipped three times for his crime.
Rushan said although the man pleaded guilty to the charge of living off his wife’s earnings, the court had to consider the public interest.
The man was charged with committing the offence at a hotel in Kuala Pilah on Oct 30.
The charge under Section 372A(1) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to 15 years with whipping and a fine.
The man had earlier pleaded for a light sentence, saying it was his first offence and that it only lasted for four months.
“I am very embarrassed and remorseful for what I did. I know I have wronged my wife, family, in-laws in Sabah and everyone who knows about this case.
“I hope the court will give me the lightest sentence as I have to look after my wife who is ill, my mother and my in-laws,” he said.
However, deputy public prosecutor Atiqah Abu Hassan urged the court to impose a sentence that is commensurate with the crime.
“What is even worse is that the accused had lived off immoral earnings by prostituting his own wife,” she said.
According to the facts of the case, a police team arrested the accused and rescued the woman during a raid at the hotel.
A probe later revealed that the accused had been using his wife for sexual exploitation since July and that he charged clients RM1,000 per hour.
At a separate court earlier, Sessions Judge Datin Surita Budin fixed Nov 30 for the next mention of a case involving the accused who was also charged with trafficking his wife for sexual exploitation at the same place and date.
Although the accused had earlier pleaded guilty, he disagreed with the facts of the case read out to him before sentencing, that he had forced his wife to commit the acts.
“I did not force her to do so. We both agreed on it,” he said.
The judge then stood down the matter and when proceedings recommenced, the accused was told that the court had to reject his guilty plea.
“The word ‘forced’ used in the facts of the case is crucial. Since you (the accused) are disputing the fact that you forced her as stated in the facts of the case, I hereby order that the case be brought up for mention again on Nov 30,” she said.
For this offence, he was charged under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti- Smuggling Migrants Act read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
