A DELIVERY rider in Malaysia has had his appeal rejected and will serve a 45-year prison sentence along with 42 strokes of the rotan for the repeated rape and sexual assault of his stepdaughter.
The Kuala Terengganu High Court today upheld the conviction and sentencing of the 34-year-old man, dismissing his appeal against the earlier ruling. Judge Datuk Hassan Abd Ghani delivered the verdict.
On February 29th, the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court had originally handed down the severe punishment after determining that the prosecution had successfully proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The accused faced four charges of rape against his stepdaughter, who was 11 years old at the time of the offences, which occurred at a residence in Kuala Nerus. He was also charged with one count of sexual assault against the same victim. All the offences took place between June 2021 and November 2021.
For each of the four rape charges under Section 376 (3) of the Penal Code, the man was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and 10 strokes of the cane. He also received a sentence of seven years imprisonment and two strokes of the cane for the sexual assault charge under Section 377CA of the same code.
The court ordered that the prison sentences for the first three rape charges would run consecutively. However, the jail terms for the fourth rape charge and the sexual assault charge will be served concurrently. The prison sentence commenced from the date of conviction, which is today.
Following the pronouncement of the sentence, the accused reportedly fainted and wept multiple times within the courtroom. – April 14, 2025
