Corpun file 12360

Sarawak Tribune, Kuching, 15 October 2003

Gang ringleader pleads guilty to three rape charges

KUCHING - Alleged ringleader of a gang, believed to be responsible for several rape cases last year, pleaded guilty yesterday to three rape charges including to raping two underage girls last year. Siang bin A'en, 35, from Kg Serpan Laut, Asajaya admitted raping three girls, aged between 17 and 21, at Demak Laut and Asajaya between March and June last year.

His accomplice, Zamhari Mahdi, 22, of Kg Kelka Simunjan, who was also charged with raping one of the 17-year-old girls, also pleaded guilty to the charge. Siang, who was convicted and sentenced to 39 years' imprisonment and 22 strokes of rattan by a Sessions Court here last May for raping a 23-year-old girl last year, first pleaded guilty to raping a 17-year-old girl in June last year. The offence was committed somewhere beside Sg Bako, Demak Laut on June 15, 2002 between 8 pm and 3 am after kidnapping the girl while she was waiting to make a phone call at Jalan Ang Cheng Ho.

The court heard that the girl was blindfolded and threatened with bodily harm by a few men who spoke with Indonesian accent. In a secluded place, she was gangraped by the men. Siang also admitted raping another 17-year-old girl inside a hut at Asajaya Road, Kota Samarahan after grabbing her while she was riding on her way to school in March last year. The girl was later set free in front of a local newspaper office in Bintawa after been gang-raped between 6.30 am and 8 pm that day. Siang, who made a daring escape just a few hours before sentencing on May 8, also pleaded guilty to raping a 21-year-old girl on June 19 inside a hut beside Sg Demak, Demak Laut area between 9.30 pm and 11 pm.

According to the brief facts, the girl was walking home with her auntie at Jalan Three Hills Park when a car suddenly stopped by their side, a few men rushed out, grabbed the girl and pushed her into the car before driving away. Her auntie however managed to flee to safety. She was blindfolded and was taken to a hut before being raped by a few men. Later during investigation, police found a sanitary pad belonging to the girl together with some pubic hairs. Also present at the dock yesterday was a 17-year-old boy from Asajaya who faced the same charges as the two. However, no plea was taken from him yesterday as his fate would only be known on October 16. They could face a jail term up to twenty years and whipping for the charges framed under Section 376 of the Penal Code.

Corpun file 12193

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 17 October 2003

Serial rapist gets 49 more years in jail

By Sharon Ling

KUCHING: A serial rapist now serving a 39-year jail sentence asked the Sessions Court here for a death sentence after he was convicted on more rape charges.

Siang A'en, 34, also requested the court to alternatively sentence him to 500 years.

Turning down the request, Judge Yew Jen Kie jailed him for a total of 49 years on three charges. She also ordered the accused to be whipped 10 times.

However, the accused would only serve 18 years for these offences and the sentence would take effect after he serves the 39-year sentence passed in May this year.

The court also sentenced a second accused, Zamhari Mahdi, to 15 years' jail and five strokes of the rotan on one charge.

Siang had pleaded guilty and was convicted on three counts of rape under Section 376 of the Penal Code.

On March 13 last year, Siang and an accomplice abducted a 17-year-old student as she was cycling along the road in Bintawa and brought her to a hut in Asajaya where they raped her.

On June 15 last year, Siang and two accomplices including Zamhari, abducted another victim and gang-raped her in Demak Laut. The victim, also 17, had just stepped out from a telephone booth in Jalan Ang Cheng Ho when she was abducted.

Further, on June 19, Siang and three others picked out two women who were walking along the road in Three Hills Park here as their target. They managed to grab one woman while the other escaped.

The 21-year-old victim was taken to an isolated hut in Demak Laut and raped.

Siang was sentenced to 15 years and five strokes on the first charge, 16 years and five strokes on the second charge and 18 years and 10 strokes on the third charge.

In passing sentence, Judge Yew said Siang was a dangerous man who should be locked away for a long time.

"The accused and his friends chose their victims at random. This shows that he is a dangerous man and Kuching will not be safe if he is at large."

She said the accused had not shown any mercy to the victims and had beaten up one of them for twice attempting to escape.

She added that the accused did not deserve a lighter sentence despite entering a guilty plea, which usually carries a "discount" on the sentence, because of the seriousness of the offence and that it was not the first time he had committed such an offence.

The court also took into account the prevalence of rape in Kuching and found it necessary to pass a deterrent sentence, she said.

Meanwhile Zamhari, who is now serving a jail term, was sentenced on the charge of gang-raping the 17-year-old victim abducted along Jalan Ang Cheng Ho.

Corpun file 12210

Daily Express, Kota Kinabalu, 17 October 2003

Caning for 127 illegals

Kota Kinabalu: A total of 129 foreigners, including two women, who admitted to entering the State illegally were each sentenced to two months' jail on Thursday.

One hundred and eighteen appeared before Sessions Court judge Datuk Nurchaya Arshad, while the other 11 were produced before judge Ravinthran Paramaguru.

The men were also ordered to be caned once, while the women were spared the whip.

Meanwhile, in another immigration case, Nurchaya sentenced 14 foreigners to two months' jail for overstaying and jailed another seven men for having fake IMM13 documents.

The Filipinos and Indonesians, aged between18 and 48, were arrested in the city, Beaufort, Tuaran, and Keningau in September.

Mohd Azamain Ag Ramli of the Immigration Department and Chief Inspector Abdul Rahman Atan and Chief Inspector Kenneth Oliver Samuel prosecuted.