Kota Kinabalu: An 18-year-old teenager pleaded guilty to raping an underaged girl during his defence.
However, Sessions Court Judge Dayang Ellyn Narisa Abang Ahmad deferred the teenager’s sentencing to Oct 4 pending his social report.
The teenager is accused of raping the 15-year-old girl between 2am and 3am on Jan 14, 2022 on a chair at the seaside in Kudat.
The offence under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping, on conviction.
Earlier, counsel Mohd Ari Nadzrah Abd Rahman, who defended the teenager, asked for leniency if the court treat him as an adult and no custodial sentence if the court exercise 293 of Criminal Procedure of Code(CPC) as he is a youthful offender.
Mohd Ari informed the court that his client was only a youth and committed the offence for getting involved in the wrong group of friends.
In reply, Deputy Public Prosecutor Suriyati Jumain submitted that although the case involved a youthful offender, the court can use 293 of CPC to not hand down an imprisonment sentence, however, the prosecution asked for jail sentence to be imposed as it was a serious offence.
