A three-member bench chaired by Suraya Othman, however, allowed the jail term to begin from June 2, 2017, the day he was arrested.

Mohd Amin Ayob, 47, had asked the girl to perform oral sex on him at the Teluk Datai beach in Langkawi between noon and 3pm on May 20, 2017.

He committed rape on the girl at a mangrove swamp near Kampung Belanga Pecah in Langkawi between 9am and 11am on May 27, 2017.

Engaging in sexual intercourse with a minor – aged 16 and below – is an offence even if it is consensual.

The sessions court had previously sentenced Amin to five years’ jail and five strokes of the rotan each for the oral sex and rape charges.

The High Court then allowed the prosecution’s appeal to enhance the sentence.

He was given 10 years and 10 strokes of the rotan for each of the offence. The jail terms were to run concurrently, meaning he has to only serve 10 years.

The High Court also ordered the jail term to begin from Oct 3, 2018, the day he was found guilty by the trial court.

Deputy public prosecutor Dhiya Syazwani Azyan Mohd Akhir submitted that the High Court’s verdict be maintained on public interest grounds.

“The accused was a much older person compared with the victim who was a teenager,” she said.

Lawyer Fong Fook Chen mitigated that his client was a first-time offender.

“Both got to know each other two months before the incidents and there was no violence involved,” he said.

According to the facts revealed in the course of the trials, the accused and the victim came to know each other through the WeChat application.