Kota Kinabalu: A 24-year-old biscuit factory worker who committed physical sexual harassment against his sister-in-law was jailed 11 years plus two strokes of the cane.
The man received the punishment from Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan after he pleaded guilty, Wednesday.
The court also ordered the man to undergo rehabilitative counselling for two years while serving his jail sentence.
After completing his jail sentence, the man was also ordered to be placed under police supervision for two years.
The man was ordered to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest.
He committed the offence against the 16-year-old girl by kissing her mouth, fondling her breasts and touching the girl’s private part with his finger at 8.30pm on March 28 this year inside a car by the roadside in Papar.
The offence under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 provides for a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping, on conviction.
During mitigation, the man asked for leniency by saying he has two children and his parents to look after.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Dacia Jane Romanus urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence considering the rampancy and seriousness of the case.
Dacia submitted that the victim was the man’s sister-in-law and as a person of trust, the man should not have taken advantage against the innocent child.
The court heard that the incident happened when the man fetched the victim from school and after arriving at the said place, the man had stopped the car and committed the offence.
The man warned the victim not to tell other about the incident.
However, the victim had revealed the incident to her counselling teacher five months later who advised her to lodge a police report and the man was subsequently arrested.
