KOTA KINABALU: A 34-year-old local man has been sentenced to seven years’ jail by the Sandakan Sessions Court for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl.
He pleaded guilty to the charge before judge Zaini Fishir@Fisal on Friday (Feb 3).
Zaini ordered the accused to serve the prison sentence from Jan 20, the date of his arrest.
According to the facts of the case, the man lived in the same neighbourhood as the girl and brought her to his house in Sandakan at around 8.10am that day.
He then took off the victim’s pants in a room there and hugged her from behind while touching her private parts.
He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 with sexually assaulting a child.
This section provides for a maximum of 20 years’ jail and also whipping upon conviction.