Judge Nariman Badruddin handed down the sentence after Azman Nor, 48, pleaded guilty to the charge.

He was also fined RM5,000, in default five months’ jail, for the offence.

Azman was charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt on the 14-year-old girl with a wooden stick at a house at Jalan Sekolah in Kampung Paya Redan, Pagoh, Muar, between 1am and 3am on Aug 9.

The charge, framed under Section 326 of the Penal Code, provides for imprisonment for up to 20 years, a fine or whipping upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Arif Marzuki requested an appropriate punishment to be imposed on Azman due to the severe injuries inflicted on the victim, who sustained lacerations on the head and was given eight stitches for the injury, and also suffered a broken arm.

In mitigation, Azman, who was unrepresented, told the court he regretted his actions, and felt guilty and remorseful.

According to the facts of the case, the victim and her step-sister, rushed out of the burning house to get help from the accused, but instead, he assaulted them until they collapsed before he fled the scene.

Though her step-sister died, the victim survived and ran to a neighbour’s house who then sent her to Sultanah Fatimah Hospital for treatment.

Azman was arrested on Jalan Sultan Ismail in front of Lot 10, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, at 1.13am on Aug 14.

On Aug 20, he was charged in the magistrates’ court with the murder of his parents, Nor Yassin, 82, and Ara Ab Hamit, 76, and his niece, Noradriana Nor Hasyim, 11, at a house in Kampung Paya Redan, Pagoh, between 1am and 3am on Aug 9.

The charges were framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty and can be commuted to a jail term of between 30 and 40 years, and whipping of no fewer than 20 strokes of the cane upon conviction.

No plea was recorded for the murder charges as they fall under the High Court’s jurisdiction.

The court has set Oct 24 for mention of the case.