KUCHING, July 13 — A 24-year-old man convicted last year of raping a minor had his jail sentence reduced yesterday from 30 years to 22 years.

High Court Judge Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab accepted the appeal filed by Jonychin Jemani and reduced the 15-year sentence for each of the two charges he was convicted on, to 11 years each.

The judge however maintained the six strokes of the cane imposed by the Kota Samarahan Sessions Court on June 19, 2020.

The accused was found guilty after a full trial and convicted on two counts of rape under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, and sentenced to 15 years and three strokes of the cane for each charge.

The jail sentences were ordered to run consecutively.

He raped the then 15-year-old girl at a house in Simunjan in July 2017 and again at the same place in February 2018.

The girl later gave birth and a DNA test showed the accused to be the baby’s father.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ruthra Raj appeared for the prosecution yesterday while the accused was represented by Abdul Rahman Mohamad Hazmi, Christopher Bada and Roy Gingkoi. — Borneo Post