PUTRAJAYA: A 72-year-old man has lost his appeal against his 2019 conviction for raping a teenage girl and will begin his 24-year prison sentence.
A three-judge Court of Appeal panel comprising Justice Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, Justice Datuk Noorin Badaruddin and Justice Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, on Tuesday (Oct 7) unanimously upheld the earlier Sessions Court conviction and sentence, which included five strokes of the cane.
While Section 289 of the Criminal Procedure Code generally prohibits the caning of men over 50, an exception is made for sexual offences.
In delivering the court's decision, Justice Mohamed Zaini stated that the Sessions Court's factual findings were based on the testimonies of prosecution witnesses and that the appellate court was satisfied with those findings.
He further stated that the appellant's alibi defence had been carefully analysed by the Sessions Court judge, and the appellate court was satisfied that no significant error had been made to warrant its intervention.
"We find the sentence imposed by the High Court to be appropriate. The appeal is therefore dismissed, and the decision of the High Court is upheld," he said.
The court subsequently issued a warrant of committal, compelling the man to begin his prison sentence immediately, as he had previously been released on RM15,000 bail with one surety, pending the outcome of his appeal.
The appellant, a former security guard at an oil palm plantation, faced three counts of raping the girl at a house in Besut, Terengganu, in March and June 2019. The man's wife and the victim's mother are cousins.
The case has a complex procedural history. Initially, the Sessions Court acquitted and discharged him on the first two charges without calling for his defence, following which the prosecution successfully appealed, which resulted in the High Court ordering the appellant to enter his defence.
On Oct 16, 2022, he was convicted on the third charge and sentenced to 12 years in prison and three strokes of the cane.
Then, on June 25, 2023, he was also found guilty on the first two charges and received a sentence of 12 years and one stroke of the cane for each charge, leading to a cumulative sentence of 36 years and five strokes of the cane.
However, on Aug 10, 2023, the High Court upheld his conviction and sentence for the third charge.
Later, on Dec 13, 2023, the High Court partially allowed his appeal regarding sentencing for the first two charges.
The court ordered the sentence for the first charge to run concurrently with the third, thereby reducing his total sentence to 24 years in prison and five strokes of the cane. – Bernama
