PUTRAJAYA, Nov 15 — A former teacher received a dressing down from the Court of Appeal today, when he lost his final appeal against the imposition of a 12-year jail sentence and seven strokes of the rotan for raping a schoolgirl, about four years ago.

Court of Appeal judge Datuk Azahar Mohamed who chaired a three-member panel told Yek Hock Soon: “You took advantage of your student.

“We have considered the sentence meted out by the sessions court and agree with the sessions court that the offence you had committed is serious, particularly when you committed rape, you were a teacher.”

He upheld the Kota Baru Sessions Court decision to convict and sentence Yek, 30, on the first charge of raping the victim with a nine-year jail term and imposition of five strokes of the rotan.

On the second charge, the former teacher was sentenced to three years jail and given two strokes of the rotan for outraging the girl’s modesty.

The sentences were to run consecutively.

Yek, from Sitiawan, Perak begins serving the sentences today, as he was on bail pending the appeal.

He committed the offences on the victim, who was 12 at that time, at the science laboratory of a school in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan between 8am and 3pm in August 2009.

Azahar presided with justices Datuk Mohtaruddin Baki and Datuk Rohana Yusuf when they unanimously dismissed Yek’s final appeal against his conviction, jail sentence and whipping.

On January 26, last year, the sessions court found Yek guilty of raping the girl at the school between 8am and 3pm in August 2009.

He was also found guilty of using criminal force to outrage her modesty at the same place at 12.15pm on August 17, the same year.

Yek was unsuccessful in his appeal in the high court which had dismissed his appeal on February 19, this year.

Earlier in his decision, Azahar said the sessions court had made the correct findings when accepting the victim’s explanation as to why she did not mention the rape incident in her police report.

“It is important to note that the victim was 12 years old at that time and would have been in a traumatic state and her explanation that she was embarrassed to inform the police (of the rape) was reasonable,” he added.

He said Yek’s conviction was safe and there was no reason for the court of appeal to interfere with the sessions court’s finding which was affirmed by the high court.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Azlina Rasdi appeared for the prosecution while Yek was represented by counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and Datuk Sukri Mohamad. — Bernama