SEREMBAN: A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison and five lashes by the Sessions Court here today after pleading guilty to raping his daughter from the age of 12 until she gave birth.
Judge Mohamad Kamil Nizam while sentencing the 44-year-old man said the offence committed by the accused was a serious crime.
He said as a result of the accused’s actions, his daughter was traumatized and left with a severe psychological scar.
“You as a father are entrusted to take care of your children but you have done the opposite. I am aware of the fact that the victim filed a complaint after her parents were arrested by the police for another case...the victim must have felt unsafe staying at home during that period,“ he said.
According to the charge, the man was accused of having intercourse with his 18-year-old daughter in a village in Port Dickson on November 2 2022 in accordance with Section 376B (1) of the Code which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 30 years and whipping.
Based on the facts of the case, the victim made a police report that she was raped by the accused from the age of 12 until April 21.
The teenager never reported the matter to anyone until her mother and the accused were arrested in a narcotics case that made the complainant to come forward to file a police report on May 1.
The complainant suspected that she was pregnant in Dec 2022 and gave birth on August 17 2023 in a hospital. The accused and the complainant’s mother had handed over the child to another person without the complainant’s knowledge.
Earlier the father of four, who was not represented appealed for a lighter sentence on the grounds that he has a young child and a wife who suffers from health problems.
Deputy Public Prosecutor M. Kalaivaanan requested the court to sentence him to imprisonment for a long period as well as whipping as the offence committed by the accused is a serious criminal case.
