KOTA KINABALU: A grandfather who sexually abused his 10-year-old granddaughter while her parents were away was arrested last weekend.
Keningau district police chief Supt Yampil Garai said the abuse was uncovered when the girl complained of pain in her private area, prompting her aunt to take her to the hospital for a check-up.
While receiving treatment, the girl told the doctor what her grandfather did and that she had endured the abuse since she was five.
"We later picked up the 62-year-old man from his house at 1.15am on March 2 on suspicion of sexually abusing his granddaughter," he said.
Yampil said the investigation revealed that the abuse started in 2020 and continued until March 1 in the suspect’s house toilet while the girl was under his care when her parents had travelled to Kuala Lumpur.
"The victim said all the incidents were never told to anyone out of fear of being beaten by the suspect, besides not understanding that the acts were wrong," he said on Saturday (March 8).
The case is investigated under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of up to 30 years' imprisonment and a minimum of 10 strokes of the rattan, if found guilty.
