KOTA KINABALU: A father of two has been jailed for five months and fined RM4,000 for masturbating while he watched a mother breastfeed her child outside an Inanam clinic recently.
On Wednesday (Dec 6), lorry driver Rasip Astali, 34, pleaded guilty to committing the offence at 10.40am on Aug 13.
Magistrate Lovely Natasha Charles ordered the man to serve the jail sentence and pay the fine, in default a further seven months' imprisonment, for insulting the modesty of the 25-year-old woman.
According to the facts of the case, the woman got into her vehicle after leaving the clinic and breastfed her child.
She did not notice anyone at first and only realised a while later that Rasip was masturbating in his car that was parked next to hers.
She managed to snap a photo of Rasip before he drove off.
The court heard that she then informed her husband about the incident.
A police report was lodged in the evening and Rasip was subsequently arrested.
On Oct 31, the woman identified him as the offender.
In mitigation, National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Carmen Khoo asked for leniency, saying that her client was remorseful and was the sole breadwinner for his family.
She said Rasip was married and had two children aged two and four.
Inspector Kelvan Elson Maik urged for a deterrent sentence, taking into consideration the public interest of this case.
He said the victim had been traumatised by the incident and Rasip had committed a serious offence that could have led to a more serious crime.
