SEREMBAN: A 63-year-old widower was sentenced to five years' jail by the Sessions Court here after he pleaded guilty to a charge of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl.
Judge Surita Budin also ordered Noor Aini Ismail to undergo counselling and to remain under police supervision for one year upon his release.
The accused was charged with committing the offence in a garage of a house in Taman Desa in Port Dickson on Dec 6.
He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
Offenders are also to remain under police supervision for a period of one to three years.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Norazihah Asmuni then asked the court to impose a sentence which commensurate with the crime.
"The accused has committed a serious offence against a child and the court needs to impose an appropriate sentence as a lesson to the accused and to also send a message to society at large," she said.
Norazihah said the court also had to consider that the accused had previously committed molestation.
According to the facts of the case, Noor Aini went to the victim's house to sell snacks but her father told him they were not keen on buying anything.
Before leaving, the accused asked the victim's father if he could have a glass of water.
The father then told the victim to get the accused a glass of water and to hand it over to him.
The girl complied but after handing over the glass of water to the accused, she ran to her father, crying and told him that the accused had touched her inappropriately twice.
In mitigation, the accused pleaded for leniency, adding that he had to provide for a special needs son in his 30s and that there was no one to look after him.
