Firdaus Azamudin Arifin, now 27, had been on RM12,000 bail pending the disposal of his appeal.

His mother was seen weeping as she embraced him, moments before a policeman escorted Firdaus to the court lockup, ahead of his transfer to prison.

Justice Zaini Mazlan said the bench did not find the sentence excessive and had no reason to disturb the imprisonment term imposed by the trial judge.

“The findings of the sessions court were sound. The trial judge had considered the relevant factors before imposing the sentence,” he said when delivering the unanimous ruling of the appeals court.

The sessions court had, following a trial, also ordered that the man be given five strokes of the rotan.

Those found guilty of rape – which, by definition, includes consensual sexual intercourse with a girl below the age of 16 – are liable to be jailed for up to 20 years and to a whipping.

The bench also ordered that bail money previously paid to the sessions court and High Court be returned to the surety.

Also on the panel hearing the appeal were Justices Ahmad Zaidi Zainal and Noorin Badarudin Azman.

Firdaus committed the offence on the girl, then 14, at a hotel in Banting between midnight and noon on March 23, 2019.

In an 18-page judgment, Zaini said the evidence adduced by Firdaus at the end of the defence case had failed to raise any doubt on the prosecution’s case.

“The defence’s version was merely a denial without being supported by any other credible evidence to challenge the prosecution’s case,” he said.

Zaini said it was not disputed that Firdaus and his victim had stayed at the hotel stated in the charge.

He said Firdaus was with the victim throughout the entire period of their stay and did not raise the defence of alibi.

“We agree with the findings of the sessions court and the High Court that the appellant (Firdaus) was neither misled by the charge nor prejudiced in his defence,” he added.

The facts of the case revealed the girl had gotten to know Firdaus through social media platforms (WeChat and Instagram) and had picked the girl up in Seremban on March 20, 2019.

Firdaus then took the girl on his motorcycle to Klang, where they spent two nights at a hotel there.

On March 23, they checked into a hotel in Banting, where the rape took place.

Firdaus then asked a friend to send the girl back to Seremban on March 25, where the victim’s mother was waiting to take her home.

The mother noticed something amiss in her daughter and, upon questioning, the girl disclosed what had transpired. The mother then lodged a police report.

Rosal Azimin Ahmad and Amiraizat Abdul Rani represented Firdaus while deputy public prosecutor Ng Siew Wee appeared for the prosecution.