A SWIMMING instructor pleaded guilty at two Malacca Sessions Courts today to 32 counts of raping and sexually assaulting his teenage stepdaughter.

The 37-year-old man entered the plea after the charges were read to him before judges Mohd Sabri Ismail and Darmafikri Abu Adam.

Both courts have fixed May 15 for sentencing after deputy public prosecutors Muhammad Nazrin Ali Rahim and N. Sivashangari applied for that date to read the facts of the case and the victim’s testimony.

The prosecution also requested that no bail be granted to the accused to ensure his presence in court.

The accused was charged with 12 counts of raping the victim, under section 376(2) of the penal code, which carries a maximum 30 years’ jail and whipping and section 376(1) of the same code, which carries a maximum 20 years’ jail and whipping.

He also pleaded guilty to eight charges of having sex with the victim without her consent under section 377CA of the penal code, which carries a maximum 30 years’ jail and whipping.

The man was also charged with 12 counts of sexual assault under section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping.

All the offences were committed in Taman Maju, Jasin, between January 2020 and March 14, 2023.

Yesterday, police investigations reportedly found the teenager had been raped by her stepfather since 2020, and the incidents were believed to have occurred in their family home.

Last Sunday, police arrested the victim’s stepfather and mother at Terminal 2 of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport shortly after they arrived from Sabah to assist in the investigation of their daughter’s rape case, which led her to run away from home.

The teenager was found in Perak two weeks after she was reported missing. – Bernama, April 14, 2023.