Odd-job worker, cook each jailed 10 years, caned two strokes for sexually assaulting teen girl in Kuching

In Kuching, a 22-year-old oddjob worker and a 20-year-old cook have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison and six strokes of the cane for sexually assaulting a teenage girl. Daniel Arrazy Salmi Abdullah received an additional three-year prison term for possessing child sexual abuse material. Both men pleaded guilty to the charges under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a maximum 20-year sentence and caning upon conviction.

The young victim, 16, was assaulted by Danial in a house in Simunjan Bazaar and by the Indonesian cook in a hostel room in Serian. The cook, who is the victim's colleague, groped the teenager before leading her to the hostel room for the assault, which she was unable to resist. She reported the incident to the police, leading to the cook's arrest on August 16.

Police also arrested the oddjob worker the same night to help with the investigation. During a search of Danial's smartphone, nine videos of child sexual abuse were found. The oddjobber's 3-year sentence for this charge will be served consecutively with the 10-year sentence for the sexual assault offence. The case was investigated by Insp Victor Buckand Dusim Oh, and the public prosecutor was Adriana Maisarah Mohd Farid.