A FOOD stall owner was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 19 strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court in Seremban today after pleading guilty to six charges of incest and one charge of having unnatural sex with his stepdaughter over a two-year period.

Judge Surita Budin meted out the sentence against the 38-year-old, with the prison sentence commencing from the date of his arrest on December 29.

The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison and strokes for each incest charge and five years in prison and one stroke for unnatural sex. All prison sentences are to run concurrently.

The man was charged with committing incest at a house and stall in Jempol between January 1, 2021, and December 10, 2022.

The charges were framed under section 376B(1) of the penal code.

He was also accused of having unnatural sex at the same stall at 8pm on April 11, 2021, according to section 377CA of the penal code.

The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutor Goh Hsiao Tung, while the accused was unrepresented.

According to the facts of the case, the victim, who is a Form One student, was raped six times by her stepfather during the period in question, the last time being on December 10.

The victim’s mother, 48, married the accused in 2014.

The victim only related the incidents to her sister on December 25, as she was afraid of the accused, and was taken to lodge a report four days later. – Bernama, January 5, 2023.