PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has maintained a 42-year jail term imposed by the High Court on a man who raped his underage stepdaughter 105 times over three years.
Delivering its decision, a three-member bench chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail admonished the 37-year-old man and other sexual offenders for the heinous act of abusing members of their own family.Hadhariah said cases of fathers and grandfathers committing such crimes were rampant despite deterrent jail sentences imposed by the courts.
The lawyer, who is handling the case pro bono, suggested that his client be given a 30-year jail term so he could return to society sooner.“What type of stepfather is he to rape the victim? Even , he cannot be forgiven, what more 105 times?” she said. “In 2020, she picked up the courage to run away from home and narrate her ordeal to her aunt,” Dhiya said, adding that the man took advantage when his wife was away at work.According to the facts of the case, the stepfather sexually assaulted the girl 50 times in 2018 when she was 12 years old, 32 times in 2019, and 23 times in 2020.
Azmi followed a 2009 Court of Appeal ruling which held that a custodial sentence should not be unreasonable and must take into account the life expectancy of an accused person.