Lorry driver gets 14 years, caning for raping underage girlfriend

KOTA KINABALU: A lorry driver was sentenced by the Sandakan Sessions Court on Tuesday (Nov 12) to a total of 14 years in jail and two strokes of the cane for raping his underage girlfriend.

Judge Zaini Fishir @ Fisal meted the sentence to Mohd Zaman Kamrud Zaman, 20, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of raping a 14-year-old girl in August and September this year.

For the first count, the court ordered the accused to be jailed for six years starting from the date of his arrest on Sept 10. For the second count, he was sentenced to eight years and two whippings, with the jail terms running concurrently.

The charges were framed under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, which provides for a prison sentence of up to 20 years and whipping on conviction.

According to the facts of the case, Mohd Zaman committed the first offence on Aug 14 at Rancangan Sungai Manila in Sandakan, in the back of a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

For the second count, the man was accused of raping the girl in her room at a village in Sandakan on Sept 9.

The accused went to the girl’s room again at 1am on Oct 10 but was found out by her mother when she entered the room.

The girl’s family member then lodged a police report. Later, on Sept 10, the accused was brought to the station and handed over to the police for the next course of action.

Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Azizi Hamil appeared for the prosecution while the accused was unrepresented.