Appeals Court maintains 18-year jail sentence for man who committed incest with sister-in-law

PUTRAJAYA (Bernama): The Court of Appeal has maintained a sentence of 18 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane, on a 32-year-old labourer after he was found guilty of committing incest with his sister-in-law.

The three-judge panel led by Justice Datuk Yaacob Md Sam dismissed the labourer's appeal on Tuesday (March 3) after it found there was no error committed by the Kota Baru High Court in 2018 in affirming the decision of the Pasir Mas Sessions Court in Kelantan made on 30 Nov, 2017 to convict and sentence the man.

The two other judges sitting in the panel were Justices Datuk Hanipah Farikullah and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais.

The man was found guilty of engaging in sexual intercourse with his sister-in-law from 8pm on Nov 10,2015 until 2am the next day, which amounts to a crime of incest under the law.

Wan Mohd Ikram Wan Ibrahim, the legal counsel for the appellant, raised three issues in submissions, including the assertion that the victim was not a credible witness, to which Deputy Public Prosecutor Zaki Asyraf Zubir informed the court that the victim's testimony had been supported by DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) evidence of the appellant found on tissue and a towel that was seized. – Bernama