SEREMBAN: A 47-year-old lorry attendant was sentenced to five years jail by the Sessions Court here after he admitted to committing physical sexual assault on his 10-year-old niece twice at a banana plantation.
The accused, whose name was withheld to protect the victim’s identity, pleaded guilty to committing the offences in Nilai near here around 12.30pm on a day in May last year.
The accused was convicted by judge Surita Budin under Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
The section carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction and 15(a)(i) of the same Act which provides imprisonment up to 10 years.
The judge sentenced him to serve five years in jail for the first offence and three years for the second. However, these would run concurrently.
She also ordered the accused to undergo counselling while in prison and to remain under police supervision for one year upon his release. Earlier, the accused who was unrepresented pleaded for a lenient sentence, adding that he was remorseful.
He also claimed that he had to provide for his wife and five young children.
Deputy public prosecutor Nurul Balkis Zunaidi urged the court to impose a sentence befitting the crime. The prosecutor said as an uncle, he was supposed to have protected the child but instead did a heinous crime against the child.
