Man, 24, gets jail and rotan

Kota Kinabalu: A 24-year-old man who raped an underaged girl until she became pregnant and gave birth, was jailed 14 years and ordered to get six strokes of the cane.

High Court Deputy Registrar Cindy Mc Juce Balitus who sat as a Sessions Court Judge, meted out the sentence to Aran Jirun who changed his plea during the continuation of his trial and admitted to the charge against him on Tuesday.

Aran raped the 15-year-old girl between January and June in 2018 inside a car that was parked in a Kota Belud area.

The offence under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping, on conviction.

The court ordered Aran to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest on Jan 26, 2019.

During mitigation, Aran asked for leniency saying that he was remorseful with his wrongdoing and hoped that his jail sentence will run from the date of his arrest.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mas Izzaty Lokman urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on the grounds that the victim gave birth to baby as a result of the rape.

Mas Izzaty submitted that the victim in that case was only 15 and that she lacked the ability to care for the baby who was subsequently given to a family member.

The court heard that on Jan 22, 2019, the victim lodged a police report claiming that between January and June in 2018, she was forced to have sex with a man identified as Aran until she became pregnant.

Investigation revealed that Aran and the victim were lovers and that they have been acquainted since 2017. They first met in January 2018 where the rape took place.

The victim revealed that they continued to have sex until June 2018 where she later found out that she was pregnant.

In April 2019, the victim gave birth to a baby girl as the result of the rape and that the DNA report confirmed that Aran is the biological father of the baby.

Following the report, Aran was arrested on Jan 26, 2019 at 3pm.