PUTRAJAYA: A 23-year-old man was sent to jail for eight years and ordered to be whipped three times by the Court of Appeal here yesterday for raping his former schoolmate almost five years ago.
A three-man appellate court bench, chaired by Justice Datuk Seri Zakaria Sam, allowed the prosecution's appeal to set aside Wan Ahmed Qayyum Abdul Aziz's acquittal for the offence and substitute it with a conviction.
Acquittal overturned, man jailed 8 years for raping 13-year-old
NST
Justice Zakaria held that the prosecution's appeal had merits.
Presiding with him were Justices Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi and Datuk Kamardin Hashim.
Wan Ahmed Qayyum, who has just completed his studies in the electrical field, was accused of raping the then 13-year-old girl near a drain at Taman Angsana Mantin in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, at 1.20am on Aug 26, 2012.
He was acquitted and discharged for the offence by the sessions court on April 18, 2015, and the High Court upheld his acquittal on March 9, last year.
Deputy public prosecutor Faizah Mohd Salleh argued the sessions court judge had erred in ruling that the prosecution failed to provide proof of penetration.
She said the victim was sure that there was penetration.
She said Wan Ahmed Qayyum took the opportunity to rape the girl who regarded him as her adoptive brother.
The sessions court judge had held that Wan Ahmed Qayyum's testimony – that he inserted his finger in the victim's private parts – was reliable and there was no supporting evidence to show that the victim was raped.
Wan Ahmed Qayyum's lawyer, Azizul Shariman Mat Yusof, submitted that the victim could not be trusted, as she gave three versions of what had happened.
He said it was consensual and that his client could not be faulted 100 per cent, because it was the victim who had asked Wan Ahmed Qayyum to meet her at the location. -- BERNAMA
