Lawyer K Ramu said he received a letter from the court today that the matter would come up before a senior assistant registrar.

Ramu, who is handling the case on a pro bono basis, filed the application last week after the verdict was extensively reported in the media.

“We filed for a revision as the sentence is manifestly excessive,” he told FMT.

Ramu, who will be assisted by V Vemal Arasan, said a review was filed instead of an appeal as they were unable to take instruction from the accused.

“We do not know which jail he is in now and have no access to him due to the Covid-19 lockdown of prisons,” he said, adding that he would also apply for the accused to be produced on Feb 23 to get further instructions.

On Jan 27, a Klang sessions court judge handed the jail term and 24 strokes of the rotan to the unemployed man for sexually assaulting the minor 105 times over a two-year period.

M Kunasundary ordered the accused to serve 10 years in jail and two strokes of the rotan on each charge, with the sentences to run consecutively from the date of his arrest on Jan 20.

The man, who was unrepresented, committed the offence at a house in Sungai Way, Petaling, Selangor, from Jan 5, 2018 to Feb 24, 2020.

Section 376B of the Penal Code provides for a jail term of not less than 10 years and not exceeding 30 years, and whipping.

Lawyers interviewed by FMT expressed reservation on the punishment, with one describing it as ridiculous.