BUTTERWORTH – A 45-year-old technician was today charged at the sessions court here with 13 counts related to incest committed on his 18-year-old daughter.
The Bukit Mertajam man faces 12 counts under Section 376A and 376B of the Penal Code, as well as under Section 14(1) of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017 for physical sexual assault on a child. If convicted, the accused could be jailed a maximum 20 years and is liable to whipping.
This carries the same punishment as the charges under Penal Code: jail not exceeding 20 years and liable to whipping. If convicted, the sentences will run concurrently.
He was later charged at the Bukit Mertajam magistrates’ court under Section 354 of the same act for assaulting or use of criminal force with intent to outrage modesty.
The charge carries a maximum jail term of 10 years or fine, or whipping, or any two of the punishments.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges related to rape, sexual intercourse and outraging the modesty of his daughter since she was 6-year-old, between 2009 and last year.
Sessions judge Norhayati Mohd Yunus refused him bail and fixed July 30 for mention.
He had initially pleaded guilty at the sessions court, but changed his plea when the interpreter told him he could face a maximum 30 years’ imprisonment if convicted.
The accused, a technician at a multinational company in Bayan Lepas, was alleged to have committed the offences at an apartment in Bukit Mertajam between 2009 and last year.
Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Sharol Murad prosecuted while the accused was unrepresented.
Counsel V. Sivakumar appeared on a watching brief for the victim. – The Vibes, June 4, 2021
