KOTA KINABALU: Former senior Sabah STAR politician Phillip Among has been sentenced to a total of 43 months in prison and fined RM14,000 by the Magistrates Court after being found guilty of four counts of molesting a contestant during the 2021 State Unduk Ngadau beauty pageant.
Magistrate Marilyn Kelvin issued the sentence after determining that the defence did not raise a reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case.
Phillip, 53, who served as the Sabah STAR Parliamentary Coordinator for the Putatan Division, committed the offences while he was the technical head of the 2021 Unduk Ngadau competition, which took place during the state-level Pesta Kaamatan celebrations.
In June 2021, police reports were filed against him by a contestant who alleged sexual assault during the pageant. Following this, he was suspended from his party position.
He was first charged on June 10, 2021, under Section 354 of the Penal Code, which carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, as well as fines, whipping, or a combination of these penalties upon conviction.
Phillip faced charges for four separate acts of molesting the Unduk Ngadau contestant at different times between 2pm and 10pm in various locations, including inside a moving car after a dinner event, on a stairway next to a photo studio in Asia City, and in an office in Metro Town on May 19, 2021.
The trial began in April 2022, with the court ordering him to present his defence on Dec 12, 2024.
In a separate case, on Dec 19, Phillip was sentenced to eight months in jail and fined RM5,000 by the Magistrate's Court for molesting an 18-year-old four years ago. Magistrate Dzul Elmy Yunus also stated that Phillip would face an additional four months in jail if he failed to pay the fine.
Phillip committed the offence against the teenager around 11pm on April 17, 2021, in the living room of a capsule hotel in Asia City. He has appealed the conviction and is currently on bail pending the appeal in the High Court.
