Corpun file 17565

Daily Express, Kota Kinabalu, 5 April 2006

Local man gets 16 years, cane for raping his sister

Kota Kinabalu: A 37-year-old rubber tapper was jailed 16 years and ordered to be given six strokes of the cane on Tuesday for raping his 15-year-old sister.

Sessions Court Judge Caroline Majanil meted out the sentence to the local who pleaded guilty to committing the offence in a house at a village in Bongawan, Papar, between 10pm and 6am between August and December 2005.

He was charged under Section 376B of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of between six years and 20 years and whipping on conviction.

Earlier, Prosecuting Officer Chief Inspector Sabrina Jinius told the court that the girl was sleeping in the living room when her brother approached her and raped her.

He also threatened her against telling anyone about the incident.

The girl kept silent and the man took advantage by raping her six more times after the first incident, which usually occurred in the night after their family members were sleeping.

The court heard that the house had only one room for the parents and that the man and the victim slept in the living room.

Sabrina said the girl's parents brought her to a private clinic in town on March 20, this year after suspecting something amiss and were informed by the doctor who examined the girl that she was eight months pregnant. After questioning, the girl related her ordeal to her mother.

The man was arrested at 2pm on March 21 following a report lodged by the girl at 12.40pm on the same day.

Sabrina said the girl was referred to the Likas Hospital here, which confirmed she was 32 weeks pregnant.

In mitigation, the man said he felt remorseful for what he had done and urged for a lenient sentence saying he is not married and works as a rubber tapper to support his 75-year-old father.

Copyright © Daily Express, Sabah, Malaysia

Corpun file 17593

Malay Mail, Kuala Lumpur, 14 April 2006

10 years, 10 strokes for having cannabis

SHAH ALAM: A 37-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years' jail and ordered to be given 10 strokes of the rotan by the High Court yesterday, after pleading guilty to an alternative charge of possessing more than 200g of cannabis.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Zaharah Ibrahim ordered Alley Anuar Mohamad to serve his sentence from the date of his arrest, on May 23, 2004.

Earlier, counsel Samry Masri and Aminuddin Mohd Ramli told the court that Alley has regretted his actions.

"His plea of guilt has saved the court's time and cost," Samry said.

"It won't serve any purpose to put him away behind bars for a long time, as he has a sick and old mother to look after."

In pressing for a harsher sentence, DPP Saiful Edris Zainuddin said that the amount of drugs the accused was caught with was high.

"I urge the court to mete out between 15 and 18 years in jail," he said.

Saiful also pointed out that Alley has two previous convictions in 2002, where he was sentenced to four months in jail, also for drug possession.

This, he said, showed the accused has no remorse over his actions.

Alley admitted to having 237.6g of cannabis at Lot 331, Jalan Pancan Bedera, Sungai Besar in Sabak Bernam, at 3.50pm, on May 23, two years ago.

Copyright © The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad, Balai Berita 31, Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Corpun file 17611

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 20 April 2006

Laying bare the facts

(extracts)

KUANTAN: Some of the female students shrieked while the male students looked grim when the first stroke of the rotan landed on the bottom of a dummy during a demonstration at Penor Prison here recently.

The demonstration was conducted by a qualified prison warder to show how whipping was carried out.

The prison warder continued to lash out several more strokes and there was dead silence for a while.

Shortly after it was over, the visitors soaked in the experience from the sound and might of the act as well to visualise what would be left on the bottom of an "actual" person who had to go through it.

The visitors comprised 59 students and six teachers from three secondary schools in Kuantan - SM Paya Besar, SM Tanah Putih and SM Mat Kilau - village headmen and members of several non-governmental organisations.

The trip was organised by the Pemadam Kuantan branch led by its secretary Ihsan Hamzah.

[...]

Fifth Former Chew Wai Thong from SM Tanah Putih described the demonstration as quite "gruesome" although it was only a dummy that was being whipped.

"It was terrifying. The sound of the lashings scared the hell out of me.

"It also served as a reminder for us to be good and follow the laws of the country," he said, adding that he would share the experience with his friends.

Sahidatul Atikah Amran, 15, also of the same school said the information gained would help her improve her own discipline and made her realise that crime would not pay.

Teacher Halimi Ghazali, 42, of SM Paya Besar was grateful that the prison authorities gave them the opportunity to share some of their experiences with the students.

He also planned to have several of the students who attended the trip to give a talk on their experiences during the school's assembly.

ASP Zamri, during the briefing, said there were 1,659 convicts in the prison and 415 prison staff as of March this year.

He said between 70% and 80% of the convicts were those with drug-related offences.

Zainal Abidin advised the students to stay away from smoking as it was the first step before they indulged in drugs.

"Once you are hooked on drugs, it is very difficult to stop," he said, adding that they should concentrate on their studies and be a good citizens.

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