Judge Tasnim Abu Bakar ordered the 59-year-old man to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest on Oct 11.

The judge also ordered the man to be sent for counselling during his imprisonment and placed on police probation for two years after completing his sentence.

The man was charged with raping the 13-year-old girl in an apartment unit in Setapak Jaya, Wangsa Maju here at 4pm on Sept 10 last year.

The charge was framed under Section 375(g) of the Penal Code, which is punishable under Section 376(2)(d) of the same law and provides imprisonment for up to 30 years with whipping upon conviction.

Based on the facts of the case, a police report was lodged by a hospital medical officer after the victim sought treatment for irregular menstruation. The results of the examination revealed that she was pregnant and the gestational age at that time was 19 weeks.

According to the girl, she was raped by her stepfather and was afraid that other family members would know about it.

After she gave birth, a DNA test was carried out on her baby and it proved that the accused was the baby’s biological father.

In mitigation, the man, unrepresented, said his wife is a disabled person and that he also has an autistic child to support.

Deputy public prosecutor Siti Nursyuhada Abd Rauf asked for an appropriate punishment as a lesson to the accused, and taking into account that the action by the accused had caused trauma to the victim.