KOTA KINABALU: A labourer who sexually assaulted his 14-year-old step-granddaughter, resulting in her pregnancy and giving birth to a son, has pleaded guilty to rape.
The 52-year-old Filipino pleaded guilty to two charges for the offences committed against the girl, before Sandakan Sessions Court judge Zaini Fisher @ Fisal on Monday (Aug 25).
For the first offence, he was sentenced to 15 years of jail with 10 strokes of the rotan, and a three-year jail term with two strokes of the rotan for an additional charge under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
For the second charge, he was sentenced to 15 years of jail term to run concurrently with the first charge, and 10 strokes of the rotan for the second charge.
He was also given an additional three years imprisonment with two strokes of the rotan for an additional punishment under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 under this second charge.
He will be referred to the Immigration Department for deportation upon completion of his jail sentence.
These incidents came to light after the girl, who lived with her step-grandfather and grandmother after her parents divorced, gave birth on July 18, 2025.
According to the facts of the case, the accused first violated the girl at around 9am on Oct 13 last year, when she was washing dishes in the kitchen.
The second time was at 10am on Oct 15, when he had lured the girl and her two siblings into the estate under the pretence of collecting palm oil fruits.
The man had asked her siblings to collect fruits elsewhere while they stayed in the area where he raped her.
At around 7pm on July 18, the girl developed stomach cramps and was shocked to experience childbirth.
The accused saw that she had given birth and admitted to raping the girl to his wife (victim’s grandmother).
He only informed the victim’s father on July 20, who did not dare report the matter to the police as he was undocumented, so he told his ex-wife about it later.
The incident was reported on July 23 by the victim’s mother after her step-grandparents hid the birth for several days.
