KUCHING — The High Court here today sentenced a man to a total of 54 years in prison and 24 strokes of the cane for sexually assaulting his 13-year-old stepdaughter on three consecutive days earlier this month.

Judge Musli Ab Hamid convicted the 53-year-old on his own guilty plea to three charges under Subsection 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017, read together with Section 16(1) of the same Act.

Section 14(a) carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years and caning upon conviction, while Section 16(1) provides for a prison term of up to five years and up to two strokes of the cane.

For each charge under Section 14(a), Musli sentenced the stepfather to 15 years’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane, while for each charge under Section 16(1), he received an additional three years’ imprisonment and two strokes of the cane.

The judge also ordered for the sentences to run consecutively from today and for the stepfather to undergo rehabilitative counselling during his detention and to be placed under police supervision for two years after completing his prison term.

The offences were committed on October 4, 5, and 6 this year, at around 10pm, in a room of a house in Bau.

Based on the facts of the case, the victim lodged a police report stating that her stepfather had molested her by fondling her breasts and touching her private parts. It is understood that he had been abusing her since she was eight years old.

Police arrested the stepfather on October 25.

Investigations revealed that over the three days, when the victim was in her room at about 10pm, the accused entered and sexually assaulted her by touching her breasts and private part.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Aiman Mutallib Mohamad Shariff submitted that the victim would have to live with fear and trauma for the rest of her life and urged the court to impose a severe sentence.

The stepfather was unrepresented by legal counsel during the proceedings.