RAUB: A Sessions Court judge said a 24-year jail term for a father who raped his 13-year-old daughter reflected the need to deter sexual offences.
Judge Noor Zaihan Mohamad Ali, in her grounds of judgment, cited previous court decisions stressing the need for heavy sentences to deter sexual crimes, particularly those committed against children by their own fathers.
She referred to Md Adam Mustafar v Public Prosecutor, in which the judge stressed that severe punishment was necessary to deter fathers from preying on their children and other vulnerable victims.
She also cited Yek Hock Soon, in which judge Datuk Azman Abdullah said sentences should serve as a lesson and instil fear among offenders and society.
Azman had warned that a mere "pinprick" punishment could lead society to regard rape as a less serious offence.
Noor Zaihan said the principles were particularly relevant in the case involving the 54-year-old father, who pleaded guilty to repeatedly raping his daughter.
The judge said the fact that the accused was the victim's father made the offences particularly serious, as he should have protected her rather than caused her trauma and pain.
"She should have received love and affection from him but was treated otherwise.
"These acts clearly showed that the accused did not regret his actions and continued to repeat the offences against his own biological daughter," she said.
The court sentenced him to 12 years in jail and 10 strokes of the rotan for each of two rape charges, with the sentences ordered to run consecutively.
The offences took place on March 17 and May 27 at their house in Bentong.
The court also took into account another rape committed against the victim on Sept 19 last year, for which the accused was sentenced to eight years in jail and 10 strokes of the rotan. That sentence was ordered to run concurrently with the sentence for the first rape charge in the present case.
Noor Zaihan said the two offences in the present case could not be treated as a single transaction because they occurred on different dates and involved separate acts.
The accused, who was unrepresented, had appealed for a lighter sentence, citing heart disease and high blood pressure. He said he worked as a security guard earning about RM2,000 a month and had a wife and three other daughters aged 11, 10 and six.
However, deputy public prosecutor Fathin Nadhirah Kasim sought a heavy sentence, arguing that the public interest outweighed the accused's personal circumstances.
She said he should have protected and educated his daughter instead of raping her.
The court also ordered him to undergo rehabilitation counselling in prison and be placed under police supervision for two years after completing his sentence.
The victim disclosed the offences to her mother on May 27, and the accused was arrested later that night.
Noor Zaihan said the sentence was adequate and appropriate after considering the facts and circumstances of the case, and should deter the accused from repeating his criminal conduct.
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