Corpun file 17231

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 5 January 2006

'More lashes, less jail time'

By Priscilla Dielenberg

PENANG: A lorry attendant found guilty of trying to rape a pregnant woman asked the Sessions Court to give him more strokes of the rotan and less time in prison.

Saime Razman, 33, made the request from the dock yesterday after judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail ordered him to be jailed three years from his date of arrest on Oct 10, 2004, and to be whipped twice.

"Duduk dalam penjara pun asyik kena pukul dengan budak-budak kat dalam (I always get beaten up by the youngsters in prison)," said Saime.

However, Hadhariah replied that she had already pronounced judgment.

"The decision has been made and the purpose of any sentence is to serve as a lesson," she said.

Saime was on trial for trying to rape a hotel front office assistant, now 31, in some bushes by the beach off Batu Uban here at 6am on Oct 10, 2004.

The court had heard evidence that Saime and the woman knew each other and that she was three months pregnant at the time of the offence.

Defence counsel S. Yagoo said in mitigation that Saime had an elderly mother, two wives and a three-year-old child to support.

He said Saime felt encouraged by the woman whom he fetched from a place and took to the place of the incident by motorcycle.

In pressing for a deterrent sentence, deputy public prosecutor Azman Abu Hassan said that although the offence was attempted rape, Saime was rough with a pregnant woman.

He said the woman had testified that she was forced not to resist out of fear for her unborn child safety.

Corpun file 17232

The Star (Northern edition, Penang), 6 January 2006

Jailed 11 years for having drug

Mohamad Sabree Abdul Satar had originally pleaded not guilty to a charge of trafficking in the drug, an offence punishable with a mandatory death sentence. 

But when the prosecution offered him a reduced charge he immediately pleaded guilty. 

He and his sister Che Isbah Abdul Satar were originally to be tried for trafficking in the drug at Mukim 4 in Penaga, Kepala Batas at 2.15am on Jan 23, 2003. 

Che Isbah was not offered the reduced charge. Her trial has been fixed for March 1. 

Corpun file 17238

Daily Express, Kota Kinabalu, 12 January 2006

Rotan, jail for baby via his daughter, 15

(extracts)

Tawau: The Sessions Court here on Wednesday jailed 39-year-old father of seven for 16 years after he admitted raping his underage daughter, resulting in her giving birth to a baby girl.

Judge Duncan Sikodol also ordered the man to be given six strokes of the cane for the offence committed at an unnumbered house at Taman Ria 11, in a cocoa plantation, Jalan Utara, between July and November 2004.

Prosecuting Officer Chief Inspector Habebah Abu Bakar earlier told the court that the man was arrested at Kampung Sin San, Jalan Pasir Putih, at about 10.40am, on Nov 24, 2004, following a public tip-off.

Police investigations showed that the 15-year-old victim was raped by her father 10 times in their house since June 14, 2003, until Sept 10, 2004, while her mother was in Semporna.

[...]

In mitigation, the father said he regretted his action.

He claimed to have raped his daughter after drinking sessions, as his wife had left the family for Semporna.

He was charged under Section 376 of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term of between six and 20 years, plus whipping, upon conviction.

Meanwhile, the same court fined 20-year-old Filipino Aimi Asnani RM10,000 in default four months' jail, plus six strokes of the cane, for ferrying 14 Filipino illegal immigrants, comprising seven men, four women and three children, into the country.

He admitted committing the offence in waters off Pulau Sibangkit, Semporna, at 10pm, on June 23, last year, and charged under Section 55A(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963.

[...]

Copyright © Daily Express, Sabah, Malaysia

Corpun file 17251

New Sabah Times, Kota Kinabalu, 19 January 2006

Court Beat

Deported burglar sneaks back into Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: A Filipino who was convicted for burglary and deported, and then returned to Sabah as an illegal immigrant was yesterday sentenced to eight months' jail by the Sessions Court.

Judge Ravinthran N. Paramaguru also ordered Jarih Rashad (pictured left), 21, to be given two strokes of the rotan.

The court heard that Jarih was arrested by an immigration officer on Jan 5, at about 10.45am at the Special Unit office, Wisma Budaya after the former went there to extend his pass.

Jarih was jailed a year in August 2004 and subsequently was deported. He was a holder of IMM13 document which expired on June 29 last year.

As he was involved in a crime, the Immigration director cancelled the document on April 9 last year.

Jarih was deported to the Philippines via Sandakan on May 13, last year.

However, he sneaked into Sabah via Sandakan by sea without any document last December and later found a job as a construction worker until he was arrested.

Jarih will be deported for the second time after serving his sentence.

[...]

Copyright © 1999-2000 New Sabah Times.  All Rights Reserved. 

Corpun file 17278

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 25 January 2006

Serial rapist loses appeal

By M. Mageswari

KUALA LUMPUR: Serial rapist Beh Soon Hock, ordered to be given 24 strokes of the rotan last year, failed in his bid to reduce his whipping sentence on appeal here. 

High Court Justice Abdull Hamid Embong, who rejected Beh's appeal, said he agreed that the sentences imposed on him by a lower court were appropriate for a sex offender. 

FAILED BID: Beh being led out of the court premises after his appeal to reduce his whipping sentence was rejected Tuesday.

On July 1, Sessions Court judge Akhtar Tahir had sentenced Beh to a total of 76 years in jail for five offences, of which he must serve 60 years. Beh, 39, who admitted to rape, sodomy, robbery and theft, was also ordered to be whipped 24 times. 

In mitigation, Beh, who had raped a South Korean woman and sodomised an Irish woman and a 10-year-old Kuwaiti boy between June 23 and 26, said he was willing to spend more years in jail in lieu of the whipping sentence. 

Justice Abdull Hamid said offenders such as Beh, who targeted tourists to fulfil his sexual desires should be kept in jail for a longer time in the public's interest. 

Noting that Beh's victims were foreign tourists, he said: "The image of the country as a tourist destination will be marred. They will take terrifying stories to their countries.  

"They require the protection of our laws, otherwise, our streets will not be safe from sex offenders like you." 

Beh, who was holding a Chinese magazine, complained to the judge that his face was printed in the magazine, which claimed that he had sodomised a Chinese man while serving his current jail term. 

To this, the judge said that was irrelevant to his case. 

Beh, an unemployed bachelor last residing in Plentong, Johor Baru, has 53 previous convictions mostly for theft, housebreaking and mischief committed between 1985 and 1996. 

Speaking to reporters later, Beh said he would not appeal again. 

"It is okay. The judge did not want to give me a reduction for my whipping sentence. I cannot do anything. I will just accept the court decision and stay in jail," he said with a laugh.  

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