A Sessions Court on Tuesday sentenced an illegal immigrant to 22 years’ imprisonment and 44 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to two charges of raping and sodomising his underage stepdaughter.
Judge Roslinda Razali passed the sentence after the man admitted to the offences, which occurred in 2023 and this year.
The court heard that the first incident took place in mid-May 2023, when the victim was eight years old, at about 8am in her room at a house in a village. The second incident happened on 29 April this year at about 5am at another house in the same village, when the girl was 11.
Investigators found that the victim told police she had been raped multiple times by the man but could only recall the two incidents.
The abuse was uncovered after the girl spoke to her school friends. A teacher was informed and notified the victim’s biological mother, who lodged a police report the same day. The victim later underwent a medical examination.
For the first charge under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code, the man was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment from the date of his arrest and 20 strokes of the cane. He also received one year’s imprisonment and two strokes under Section 16(1) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, ordered to run consecutively.
For the second charge under Section 377C of the Penal Code, he was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment from the date of arrest and 20 strokes of the cane, plus another one year’s imprisonment and two strokes under the same section of the 2017 Act, also consecutive.
The court ordered all sentences to run concurrently except for the two terms under Section 16(1) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which are to run consecutively. This results in a total of 22 years’ imprisonment and 44 strokes of the cane.
The court further ordered that the man be referred to the Immigration Department for deportation after completing his sentence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yuvan Bharathan appeared for the prosecution. The accused was unrepresented.
