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Kota Kinabalu: A 61-year-old man who committed sexual abuse against a 10-year-old girl, was sentenced to 12 years’ jail.

Sessions Court Judge Azreena Aziz handed the sentence to Tudiman Mattani who changed his plea and pleaded guilty to the charge against during the trial of his case on Monday.

Tudiman committed the offence against the girl between March and May, last year between 8pm and 3am in a bedroom of a rented house in Simpang Ulu, Sipitang.

The offence under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.

The court ordered Tudiman to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest and to be placed under police supervision for two years after serving his jail sentence.

During mitigation, Tudiman who was not represented, asked for leniency by saying that he is already old.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nureen Natasha Mohd Raffie urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on the grounds that the victim was only 10-years-old and very close with Tudiman but that he took advantage of the victim.

Nureen submitted that Tudiman did not show any remorse and had breached the trust given by the mother by committing the offence.

The court heard that the incident came to light when the victim’s eight-year-old brother informed their mother about Tudiman’s act on his sister.

The mother then asked the victim who then revealed the incident. The mother immediately lodged a police report against Tudiman who was subsequently arrested.

Investigation showed that during the incident the brother was hiding inside a closet in Tudiman’s room and saw what Tudiman did on his sister.

The victim informed the mother that Tudiman had repeatedly committed the offence against her but that the she was afraid to tell her mother until after her brother saw the act.