A three-member bench chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail also maintained the 27 strokes of the rotan previously imposed by the High Court on the 43-year-old man.

“Sexual offences against children are rampant,” the judge said when dismissing the convict’s appeal against the sentence.

The man’s sentence is to commence from the date of his arrest on June 20, 2020.

Hadhariah said the bench declined to reduce the number of strokes imposed on the man by the lower court although the law stipulates that a convict may be whipped a maximum of 24 times.

“We leave it to the discretion of the prison authorities,” she added.

Also on the bench hearing the appeal were Justices Azman Abdullah and Azmi Ariffin.

The man committed the offences against the girls, then aged 14 and 11, at a car park, a convenience store and near a religious school in Kampar, Perak, between June 16 and 17, 2020.

He was charged under Sections 14 and 15 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, for various acts including touching the girls’ bodies and forcing them into physical contact but without sexual intercourse.

He pleaded guilty to seven charges against the older sister and was sentenced by the sessions court to 10 years’ jail for each count, to be served concurrently. He was also ordered to be given 18 strokes of the rotan.

The man was also sentenced to 10 years in jail following his conviction on three charges in respect of the younger sister, also to be served concurrently. He was ordered to be given another nine strokes of the rotan.

However, the sessions court ordered that the second 10-year jail term commence after he had served the first jail term.

Earlier today, deputy public prosecutor Ng Siew Wee urged the bench not to disturb the sentence to serve as a deterrent to the accused and other would-be offenders.

“Public interest must take precedence and the court must send a strong message,” she said.

Counsel Zaidan Daud mitigated for a reduced jail term as his client was a first offender.

Grandfather-rapist

In another case, the same bench also upheld a 20-year jail term imposed on a grandfather who raped his seven-year-old granddaughter at a house in Kajang, Selangor, six years ago.

“There is no merit in the appeal, and the sentence is to begin from Aug 5, 2021,” said Hadhariah.

The sessions court had sentenced the man, now 71, to 18 years in jail after he pleaded guilty, but on appeal by the prosecution the High Court raised it to 20 years.

The bench, however, dismissed the prosecution’s application for the court to use its discretionary power under Section 60 of the Courts of Judicature Act to also order whipping.

Deputy public prosecutor P Sarulatha represented the prosecution. Lawyer Afiq Audy appeared for the accused.