KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here today sentenced two men to 11 years in prison and two lashes of the rotan after finding them guilty of raping an 18-year-old girl in a car in May last year.
Judge Izralizam Sanusi sentenced lorry driver, B. Satia, 27, and his friend T. Khanesen, 31, who was working as a construction site supervisor, after the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts at the end of the defence case.
“After the court took into account mitigation and weighing the facts that was examined as fairly as possible, the order of the good behavior bond requested by the two accused was inappropriate and inappropriate to be given.
“Therefore the court sentenced the two accused to 11 years imprisonment with two strokes of the cane,” said Judge Izralizam who ordered the prison sentence to start today.
Earlier, lawyers Muhammad Amin Abdullah and K. Ponnusamy, representing Satia and Kanesen respectively, applied for a punishment in the form of a good behavior bond, taking into account the fact that the two accused are the main breadwinners of the family and are first-time offenders.
“We are also requesting a stay of execution while waiting for an appeal to be filed in the High Court,” said Ponnusamy.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Aisyah Mohamed Zanyuin objected the request for punishment in the form of a good behavior bond because the offence committed is rape, which is a serious offence.
“The prosecution is requesting severe punishment as a lesson to the two accused so that they are held accountable for the offence committed. The prosecution calls for an immediate custodial sentence to emphasize public disapproval, to punish offenders and most of all, to protect women,” said Nur Aisyah.
The court allowed the postponement of the execution of the sentence but increased the bail amount from RM9,000 to RM11 ,000 to ensure the presence of the two accused in future proceedings.
A total of 14 prosecution witnesses and seven defence witnesses including the two accused were called throughout the trial which started in February.
On May 24 last year, Satia was charged with allegedly raping an 18-year-old girl in a Honda City car in the area of the entertainment center, Jalan Tun Razak, Maluri here, at 5.20am, May 13, 2023.
Khanesen was also charged with committing the same offence against the same victim, at 5.06 am in the same place.
Both offences were charged in accordance with Section 376(1) of the Penal Code which provides for a prison sentence of up to 20 years and whipping.
