SIBU: A 35-year old man has been sentenced to a total of 104 years in prison and 18 strokes of rotan by the Sessions Court for raping his two underaged stepdaughters.
On Friday (Oct 31), the accused, a former utility company employee, pleaded guilty to nine charges under Section 376B and 377C of the Penal Code, which were read with Section 16 of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017.
According to the facts of the case, the two victims, aged 15 and 16 years old, had at about 11am on Oct 25, at their barrack home in Jalan Salim, told their 37-year-old mother that they had been raped by the accused since 2020.
This led to the arrest of the accused at about 4.25pm on the next day.
In mitigation, the accused pleaded for leniency. He said he felt remorseful and promised not to commit the same offences again.
DPP Cynthia Emmelda Jerry pressed for a severe sentence saying that the accused had forced the two victims to fulfil his gratification of desire.
Judge Musyiri Peet ordered that the sentences be run consecutively.
He said the court takes serious note that the offences were committed by the accused who is the stepfather of the two young victims.
"The offences occurred on multiple occasions, at different times, clearly showing a pattern of persistent abuse. The fact that the accused committed such heinous acts against not one by two children under his care, severely aggravates the gravity of the offences. The court finds that the accused gravely breached the trust placed in him as a guardian and stepfather," he said.
Judge Musyiri added that sexual offences against children within the family setting and involving multiple victims, warranted a stern response.
"The law must protect the most vulnerable members of society and perpetrators must be held fully accountable," he said.
