Kota Kinabalu: A 62-year-old man was jailed nine years and ordered given one stroke of the cane after he was found guilty of committing a sexual offence against a 10-year-old girl, four years ago.
Sessions Court Judge Ummu Kalthom Abdul Samad meted out the sentence to Mohd Herman Pawawo on Wednesday.
Ummu in delivering her decision, held that Herman failed to cast doubt on the prosecution’s case, and therefore, the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Herman was convicted of committing the offence by caressing the girl’s back at 11.30am on Oct 13, 2019 at a grocery shop in Manggatal, near here.
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Ummu ordered the jail sentence to run from Herman’s date of arrest on Oct 13, 2019.
Ummu also ordered Herman to undergo rehabilitative counselling during the imprisonment period and be placed under police supervision for two years after completing his sentence.
Counsel P.J Perira representing Herman requested for a lenient sentence and to run from the date of his arrest on the grounds that it was his first offence and had no previous conviction record and he is an elderly man suffering from severe diabetes and has three children and three grandchildren.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Nur Faezah Jafry who stood in for DPP Siti Hajar Mazlan applied for a deterrent sentence as a lesson to Herman and a message to the public at large that it was a serious offence.
Nur Faezah said as an elderly person, Herman should have protected the victim and portrayed a good example to the victim and not conduct such a heinous crime against her.
She also applied for Herman to undergo rehabilitate counselling under Section 26 of the Sexual Offences against Children Act and for him to be placed under police supervision under Section 27 of the same Act after completing his sentence.
Eight prosecution and three defence witnesses testified during the trial.
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