KOTA KINABALU: A 34-year-old father was handed an 18-year jail sentence and ten strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here on Friday after admitting to raping his young daughter.
Sessions Court Judge Zaini Fishir meted out the heavy sentence after the accused, who had been on trial, abruptly changed his plea to guilty following the testimony of five prosecution witnesses.
The court heard that the man committed incest against his daughter, who was then aged 13 years and 11 months, at a house room in Putatan on the morning of April 23 this year.
Despite the man pleading for leniency and citing his hypertension and need to care for his other small children, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugenie A Gilbert urged for the maximum penalty, stressing the accused's betrayal of his duty to protect his child.
The unrepresented man will serve his prison term effective from May 23 this year, marking a devastating end to the legal ordeal for the family.
