A three-member bench, chaired by Hanipah Farikullah, said there was no merit in the appeal and maintained the High Court’s decision to have the man serve 20 years for the two offences.
The man, who started serving his jail term in 2018, will also be caned 20 times.
Judges Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Hashim Hamzah also sat on the panel hearing the appeal.
The 38-year-old man committed the offence on the girl at a village in Sik, Kedah, in July and September 2016 when she was 14 years old.
In her evidence, the girl testified that the brother had begun raping her since she was 10 years old.
He was charged under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code which reads that whoever commits rape on a woman whose relationship to him is such that he is not permitted under the law, or by religion, custom or usage to marry her, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than eight years and not more than 30 years.
The offence also carries a minimum punishment of 10 strokes of the rotan.
On Oct 31, 2018, the sessions court in Sungai Petani sentenced the man to 20 years in jail and 10 strokes of the rotan for each of the offences after he was found guilty.
The trial judge ordered the jail term to run consecutively, meaning the man was to serve 40 years in jail and receive 20 strokes of the rotan.
On appeal, the High Court last year maintained the conviction but ordered the jail term to run concurrently, meaning he would serve jail time of 20 years and be whipped 20 times.
Deputy public prosecutor Khairul Aisamuddin Abdul Rahman urged the appellate bench to restore the sentence imposed by the trial judge as the case involved two distinct offences which took place in a space of two months.
Lawyer Ameerul Aizat Noor Haslan, however, said his client would be more than 70 years of age if the 40-year jail term was restored.
“There are reports stating that the average life span of a Malaysian male is 70. He would not be able to begin a new life if freed at that age,” said Ameerul, who was assisted by Nur Atiqah Zainul Ariffin.