SIBU: A 58-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for voluntarily causing grievous hurt to his wife and daughter.
His wife remains in critical condition at Hospital Sibu.
Rahim Shim Abdullah pleaded guilty to two counts of the offence in the Sessions Court here on Tuesday (Nov 4).
According to the charge sheet, the accused attacked his wife, Fatimah Mohamamad @ Foung Swee Fung, 46, and daughter, Nohaida Shim Mee Jun Rahim Shim, 20, with a machete at 5.38am on Wednesday (Oct 29) at the family home in Permai Jaya here.
He was charged under Section 326 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, read together with Section 326A for offences involving a family member.
In pleading for leniency, Rahim told the court that he still loved his wife deeply and regretted his actions.
He claimed that he had no intention of harming her but acted out of anger after suspecting she was having an extramarital affair.
Rahim said that the day before the incident, his wife told him she was going to pick up their children from school.
However, he found out that it was his father-in-law who had gone to fetch them.
When he questioned his father-in-law, the latter insisted that Fatimah had been with him all along.
His mother-in-law then remarked that "though (you are) married, if anything happened, just let it be," which made him suspect that his wife had been unfaithful.
"I have been unemployed since the (Covid-19 pandemic) until now. I argued with my wife often, but always tried to speak to her nicely. Yet she constantly cursed and verbally abused me," Rahim told the court.
Judge Musyiri Peet said that although disagreements were normal in a marriage, as the head of the family, the accused had a duty to handle such issues responsibly.
He added that the accused’s claim that the victims had deceived him or often argued with him did not justify such violent behaviour.
"The accused, being the lawful husband of the first victim and the biological father of the second victim, wilfully and grievously assaulted his own family members.
"Armed with a machete, he inflicted serious, life-threatening injuries on both victims, causing them severe physical and psychological harm.
"It is deeply regrettable that, as a father and head of the family, the accused failed in his basic duty to protect his wife and child, and instead inflicted grievous harm upon them.
"This breach of trust and familial responsibility further aggravates the seriousness of the offence," he said.
Judge Musyiri added that a harsh sentence was necessary to reflect the gravity of the offence and to protect society.
The sentence also took into consideration the accused’s relationship with the victims and the extent of their injuries, he added.
