Corpun file 26758 at www.corpun.com
The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 1 November 2018
Man jailed for sexual assault on two boys
Taken away: Officers escorting Md Zhafran at the Sessions Court. -- Bernama
MELAKA: A father of three was sentenced to a total of 50 years' jail and four strokes of the cane on six charges of committing physical and non-physical assaults on two teenage boys.
Sessions Court judge Elesabet Paya Wan handed down the sentence on fruit trader Md Zhafran Bakar, 31, after he pleaded guilty to the charges.
The accused, who was unrepresented, was sentenced to 10 years' jail and a stroke of the cane on each of the four charges for physical sexual assault and five years' jail on two charges with committing non-physical sexual assault on the two boys by forcing them to watch a pornographic video.
However, the jail sentences were to run concurrently from the date of arrest on Oct 21.
Md Zhafran was charged with four counts of committing physical sexual assault on the two boys, aged 14 and 15, at a hotel in Batu Berendam here, between 1.05am and 4.30am on Oct 21.
The four charges, under Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping.
Md Zhafran was also charged with two counts of non-physical sexual assault by forcing the two boys to watch a pornographic video on his handphone in a car at the Batu Berendam wholesale market area at about 12.30am the same day.
The charges, under Section 15(e) of the same Act, provides for a jail term of up to 10 years, or a maximum fine of RM20,000, or both.
In mitigation, Md Zhafran said he had a wife and three young children to support.
The prosecution, conducted by deputy public prosecutor Siti Ruvinna Mohd Rawi, said the offences were serious.
"During the incident, the accused offered rewards for the two teenagers like working part-time, treats at McDonald's and handphones, if they agreed to follow him to the hotel.
"A father with three children should be protecting them, not doing what he did," she said. -- Bernama
Corpun file 26772 at www.corpun.com
The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 8 November 2018
Corporal punishment to be maintained
THERE are no plans to abolish whipping for civil offences at the moment, says Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Hanipa Maidin.
At this juncture, the government felt the need to retain caning for civil offences but was also studying the matter further, he said.
He pointed out that such punishment had been imposed for along time and was an effective deterrent.
"Do we want to change this?
"In the present law, the courts have the discretion to replace whipping with a jail term if they find that caning is detrimental to the person so there is room for the punishment to be changed.
"That is why I say that the government feels it still needs to carry out whipping," he said in reply to a question by Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (PH-Kapar).
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