KUALA LUMPUR: An Indonesian man was sentenced to 15 years in jail and three strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here today for raping his neighbour’s 10-year-old daughter.
Judge Mohd Kafli Che Ali handed down the sentence on Mukhlasin Zainuddin, 62, after finding the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts against the prosecution’s case at the end of the defence case.
“The court, after studying the testimony of the prosecution and defence witnesses, finds the accused guilty of the offence under Section 376 (2)(e)of the Penal Code,” he said and ordered the accused to serve the jail sentence from today.
Mukhlasin was charged with raping the girl at his house in Dang Wangi here between 7 am and 8 am in January and May 2019.
The girl, when testifying in court, said that on the day of the incident, her mother was not at home and her younger sister was at the babysitter’s house when the accused known as ‘Pak Kassim’ knocked on her door.
She opened the door thinking that her mother had returned home from work but saw “Pak Kassim” who then pulled her to his house and raped the victim.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Noorhani Muhmmed Ayub requested the court to impose a severe punishment as a lesson to the accused and the seriousness of the offence.
“At the time of the incident, the victim was 10 years old and she will be traumatised throughout her life. The incident also affected her future.
“This case involves public interest and the court must protect the community,” she said.
During mitigation, Mukhlasin, unrepresented, asked the court to consider his age and health problems.
“I have back pain and sometimes I can’t walk…I don’t want to die in prison, I want to die in my village,“ he said.
Six prosecution witnesses and the accused testified during the hearing which started last Jan 4.
