Kota Kinabalu: A 35-year-old music teacher who was sentenced to 28 years in prison and eight lashes of the cane on four counts of sexually assaulting a six-year-old boy four years ago, had his 12 years of imprisonment on each charge confirmed to run concurrently on Thursday.
Court of Appeal Justices Datuk Supang Lian, who sat with Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah and Datuk Wong Kian Kheong on Thursday unanimously dismissed Darrel Nicholas Kinson’s appeal against the four convictions.
The Court ruled that there was no exceptional reason for the Court to intervene regarding the concurrent findings of fact and that the Court was satisfied that the convictions were safe.
On Darrel’s appeal against his sentences, the Court allowed in part for the imprisonment sentence of the 12 years only and ordered it to run concurrently from Thursday and maintained the eight strokes of the cane imposed on him.
In this case, the appellant was a first-time offender, no violence was used by the appellant in committing the four offences, the court said.
“If we affirm all the imprisonment sentences of 28 years, this would have a crushing effect on the first-time offender…the appellant. This is against the totality principle,” said the court.
The court quoted a Court of Appeal’s decision in a decided case that the court must consider the totality of the imprisonment sentences for first-time offender, such manifestly excessive imprisonment sentences have a crushing effect.
“We, therefore order all the imprisonment sentences of 12 years to run concurrently for all the four offences,” held the court.
On March 5, 2020, Darrel was found guilty and convicted by the Sessions Court here after a full trial on all four charges against him for touching the boy’s private parts; nipples, kissing his mouth and also making the boy touch his private part between 4.30pm and 5.30pm on June 1, 2018 at a music school, here.
Darrel was handed 12 years’ jail for each charge which falls under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017 and provides for a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping, on conviction.
He received another two years’ jail plus two strokes of the cane for each charge as additional punishment under Section 16(2)(c) of the same Act which carries a jail term of up to five years, and at least two strokes of whipping, on conviction, in which the sexual assault was committed by a person in a relationship of trust because he was the teacher.
The Sessions Court ordered the imprisonment sentences for the first and third charges to run concurrently, the imprisonment sentences for the second and fourth charges to run concurrently and that the imprisonment sentences for the first and third charges to be consecutive with the imprisonment for the second and fourth charges, in which Darrell will serve 28 years behind bars.
The High Court dismissed Darrel’s appeal against the Sessions Court’s decision on Jan 30, 2023.
Darrel was on bail as the Sessions Court and High Courts granted him a stay of execution of the sentences.
He was represented by counsel Edward Paul while Deputy Public Prosecutor Zander Lim appeared for the prosecution as respondent at the Court of Appeal.
