KOTA KINABALU: A 40-year-old restaurant manager who eventually married a schoolgirl he had raped, lured his victim through the social network Facebook by claiming to be a 24-year-old bachelor.
Stephanie Simon, the girl's aunty told the Sessions Court her 13-year-old niece knew him as 'Joey Gege', the name he used on his Facebook page.
The aunty, who was testifying in the statutory rape trial of Riduan Masmud, who married the schoolgirl in May after he was charged on Feb 28, said her niece related the information to her when asked why she returned home late at 7.30pm on Feb 18, the day of the rape.
She said that her niece initially did not admit to being raped, and claimed she was at a teacher's room in school.
"Then I asked her, 'what were you doing in the teacher's room?' and she said 'nothing'. Then I asked if it was true that she had been raped," she said, adding she was informed of the rape by a neighbour's daughter who was with her in the car during the incident.
Simon said her niece then admitted to being raped in the morning by Riduan.
According to Simon, her niece and her neighbour's daughter had left for school early at about 9am using a public bus instead of the school bus, as they said they needed to get some books from a teacher.
Simon said that the neighbour's daughter, who is of the same age and a schoolmate of the victim, had came home crying and in a panicked state to inform her that her niece (the victim) had been raped at about 10am that day (Feb 18).
"I asked if she saw what happened and she said yes, and she 'even saw the man pull up her friend's skirt before raping her in the car'," she testified.
Simon said that her neighbour's daughter told her that she was locked inside the car when the rape occurred, but she managed to escape.
"She told me the car doors were locked after she managed to get out, and could not take the other girl (the victim) with her,'' she said before Sessions Court judge Ummu Kalthom.
Simon also said that it was the first time her niece, who was living with her, had used a public bus to get school as both girls would usually take the school bus.
Simon said she then lodge a police report with the girl and her father before she was sent to Likas Women and Children's Hospital for examination.
Later on Wednesday, the victim testified in camera (in chambers).
