Judge Cuts Offender's 1,050-Year Jail Term To 42 As Previous Sentence Was 'Unreasonable'
The 34-year-old accused, in January 2021, had pleaded guilty to 105 charges of raping his stepdaughter who was only 12 years old at the time.
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A man who was handed a 1,050-year jail sentence for raping his underaged stepdaughter had it set aside yesterday, 7 March at the Klang High Court
Judge Datuk Azmi Abdullah reduced the jail term to 42 years after allowing an appeal by the 34-year-old accused who, in January 2021, had pleaded guilty to 105 charges of raping his stepdaughter.
The sentence was amended to 14 years in jail for each year the offences were committed in, namely 2018, 2019, and 2020.
However, the Sessions Court's sentence of 24 whippings was upheld.
Azmi called the sentence handed down by the Sessions Court judge an emotional judgment and excessive, reported Bernama.
Image via World Orgs
The High Court judge added that the 1,050-year prison term is "unreasonable as it is unlikely to be served"
"Even the age of 100 is rarely reached by people in the world," he said, thus, the appellant is unlikely to reach that age.
Klang Sessions Court judge Datin M Kunasundary had imposed the punishment at the trial. In her judgment, Kunasundary had said the offence was abominable and had blighted the child's future, reported The Star.
Azmi said in terms of punishment, Section 377B of the Penal Code (rape offence) provides that the jail term that can be imposed is up to 20 years.
"The Sessions Court judge, in this case, used the discretion for all the 10-year jail sentences to run consecutively, and this made the sentence a staggering 1,050 years in prison, a number that can be said to be a record in our country," he explained.
"So far, there is no rule that says that total punishment that can be imposed cannot exceed a number that is considered a maximum. However, the court during its sentencing needs to assess many factors," he said.
The accused was convicted of raping his stepdaughter who was only 12 years old at the time
The then 33-year-old was found guilty of committing the offences from January 2018 to February 2020 at a house in Sungai Way, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Aimi Syazwani Sarmin while the appellant was represented by lawyers V Vemal Arasan and KA Ramu.
If you or someone you know may be at risk or has experienced sexual abuse or assault, please reach out to these Malaysian organisations:
1. WOMEN'S AID ORGANISATION (WAO)
Operating hours: 24-hour
Contact: +603-30008858
SMS/WhatsApp: +6018-9888058
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2. ALL WOMEN'S ACTION SOCIETY (AWAM)
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Contact: +603-78770224
WhatsApp: +6016-2284221 | +6016-2374221
Email: telenita@awam.org.my
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3. WOMEN'S CENTRE FOR CHANGE PENANG (WCC PENANG)
Operating hours: Weekdays (9am - 5pm)
Contact: +604-2280342 | +604-3988340
WhatsApp: +6011-31084001 | +6016-4390698
Email: wcc@wccpenang.org
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4. SARAWAK WOMEN FOR WOMEN SOCIETY (SWWS)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am to 5.30pm)
Contact: +6082-422660
SMS/WhatsApp: +6013-8044285
Email: sarswws@gmail.com
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5. SABAH WOMEN'S ACTION-RESOURCE GROUP (SAWO)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am to 2pm)
Contact: +6088-280200
Email: sawo.women@yahoo.com
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6. PROTECT AND SAVE THE CHILDREN (PS THE CHILDREN)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (8.30am to 5.30pm)
Contact: +6016-2273065 | +6016-7213065
WhatsApp: +6016-7213065
Email: protect@psthechildren.org.my
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7. INTERNET WATCH FOUNDATION (IWF)
Anonymously and confidentially report child sexual abuse content and non-photographic child sexual abuse images with IWF’s Reporting Portal.
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