GEORGE TOWN: A part-time hotel worker pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court here on Friday (July 4) to charges of raping and committing unnatural sex on an Australian woman.
S.Prasanth, 25, who made the plea before Judge Juraidah Abbas, requested time to appoint a lawyer to represent him.
He is charged with raping the Australian woman in a Perodua Axia car and putting the victim in fear by pointing a metal scissors at her at a cemetery in the Mount Erskine Estate here, between 5.20am and 6am last June 28.
The charge, under Section 376 (2) (b) of the Penal Code, provides imprisonment of up to 30 years and whipping upon conviction.
He is also charged with committing unnatural sex on the woman at the same time and location, and was charged under Section 377C of the Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of between five and 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
The prosecution, conducted by Penang Prosecution Director Mohd Nordin Ismail and Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Jun Keong, did not offer any bail due to the seriousness of the offence and the sensitivity surrounding the good bilateral relations between Malaysia and Australia, as the victim is an Australian citizen.
"We do not want this matter to give a bad impression to foreign tourists who come to Malaysia. We cannot tolerate such offences," said Mohd Nordin.
The court did not allow bail and set July 31 for mention for the submission of documents and appointment of a counsel. - Bernama
