SIBU: A 58-year-old man has been sentenced to a total of 32 years in prison by the Kapit Sessions Court after being found guilty on three counts of raping his granddaughter.
The accused was charged under Section 376B of the Penal Code, read in conjunction with Section 16(1) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
He pleaded guilty to the offences, which carry a penalty of imprisonment for a minimum of ten years and a maximum of thirty years, and liable to caning.
Judge Musyiri Peet, who presided over the case on Wednesday (5th March), sentenced the accused to 10 years in prison for the first and second charges, and 12 years for the third.
The judge also ordered that the sentences be served consecutively, starting from the date of the accused’s arrest on Dec 16, 2024.
According to the facts of the case, a medical officer at the Song Health Clinic had conducted an examination of the victim on Dec 16, 2024, and discovered that she was 33 weeks pregnant.
A police report was promptly filed, leading to the arrest of the accused on the same day.
Police investigations revealed that the accused had raped the victim on three separate occasions: once in April 2023, once in May 2023, and again in May 2024.
The incidents took place in a longhouse in Nanga Banjir, Katibas, Song.
At the time of the offences, the victim was 16 years and six months old.
She had been placed under the care of the accused by the Welfare Department following the death of her mother, who was the accused’s daughter.
The victim’s father had divorced her mother prior to her passing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Cynthia Emmelda Jerry handled the prosecution.
