KOTA KINABALU, Dec 30 ― A man, who pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to a charge of raping a teenage girl, claimed that he had married the girl and admitted that a toddler is his child.
The young man who appeared before judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim, was charged with raping the victim aged 16 at a room of a house in Kinarut in March 2019.
The accused was charged under Section 376 of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.
Earlier, the unrepresented accused who works as lorry driver assistant, had admitted to the charge but then retracted his guilty plea to one of not guilty after learning that the prosecution did not offer any bail.
The prosecution had objected to bail on the grounds that the accused allegedly stayed under the same roof with the victim.
The prosecution submitted that there was high possibility for the accused to tamper with the prosecution’s key witness.
However, the accused insisted that he had allegedly married the victim and admitted that the toddler is his child.
The accused further pleaded in court not to separate him with his family and he claimed to have been a responsible person in feeding his family.
The court fixed January 19, 2021, for pre-trial case management and the accused was denied bail.
He will be further detained in custody pending disposal of his case. ― Borneo Post
