Man to be retried for rape of stepdaughter after conviction set aside
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court in Muar has set aside the 20-year jail sentence imposed on a man for raping his stepdaughter due to the absence of grounds of judgment explaining the decision to convict him.
On Aug 8, 2022, a 42-year-old man was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in jail for raping his stepdaughter, according to prosecutors. However, the High Court in Muar recently set aside his conviction due to the lack of reasoning behind the decision to convict him. Judicial Commissioner Kalyana Kumar Sockalingam ordered the man to be retried before another Sessions Court judge, as the absence of reasons made it impossible for the High Court to properly assess the safety of the conviction.
The man was convicted under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code and was also sentenced to 10 strokes of the rotan. The alleged incident took place at a house in Simpang Renggam, Kluang, at around 7 am. The man's conviction was based on the testimony of the complainant, his stepdaughter, who was the central witness in the prosecution case.
The High Court was unable to evaluate the correctness of the conviction due to procedural deficiencies, including the lack of meaningful oral reasons recorded at the close of both the prosecution and defence cases, and the absence of a grounds of judgment explaining the decision to convict him.
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