Kota Kinabalu: A 30-year-old man who raped a married woman was jailed 13 years and ordered to receive five strokes of the cane.
Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus handed down the punishment to Midrick Makales who changed his plea and admitted to the charge on Wednesday.
Midrick raped the 21-year-old woman at 11am on Jan 13, this year, at a rented room of a shop in Lorong Buah Duku, here.
The offence, under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping, on conviction.
In asking for leniency, Midrick who was not represented, told the court that he pleaded guilty to the charge against him because he did not want to continue burdening his family.
He also told the court that he was remorseful and would not repeat it adding that, it was a lesson for himself.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Shaferrah Mad Iskim urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, as the sexual offence was a serious crime as Midrick was a stranger to the victim, and he posed a threat to society.
The court also ordered Midrick to undergo counselling sessions while serving sentence and to be placed under police supervision for three years after completing his prison term.
The court heard that the incident occurred in a rented room of a premises that also housed several other tenants.
The victim did not know Midrick and had never spoken to him, as she and her husband had only recently moved into the rented room.
On the day of the incident, the victim heard a loud knock on her door for nearly an hour but ignored it.
After it became quiet, the victim assumed no one was outside and prepared to go to her mother’s house.
However, when she opened the door, Midrick suddenly pulled her into his room.
The victim tried to fight and struggled to break free, but to no avail.
Midrick slapped and chocked the victim before raping her. While raping her, Midrick told the victim that he liked her and wanted her to be his wife.
After being released, the victim went straight to her mother’s house in the neighbouring building and told her what had happened.
A police report was lodged, leading to the Midrick’s arrest.
Further investigation found that Midrick tested positive for syabu in a urine screening.
