Rapist teacher’s 36-year jail term upheld

High Court dismisses appeal by Adrian Simon, convicted of raping a 11-year-old Singaporean student, in a school lab last year.

KOTA KINABALU: A former teacher who was convicted on two counts of raping a 11-year-old Singaporean student inside a science laboratory of a private school last year will spend the next 36 years behind bars.

Adrian Simon, 23, will also given four strokes of the cane after the High Court here dismissed his appeal against the conviction and sentence meted out by the Sessions Court on Nov 10 last year.

High Court judge Abdul Rahman Sebli dismissed Simon’s appeal after hearing arguments from his counsel Hairul Variyon Othman and DPP Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharuddin yesterday.

Abdul Rahman held that trial judge Duncan Sikodol made no error and the guilty verdict was fully supported by evidence.

“It is clear to me that all relevant and material evidence had been taken into account by the learned trial judge in deciding whether Simon is guilty of the charge.

“More importantly,  the trial judge had accepted the evidence of the complainant whom he described as a ‘thoroughly credible witness’,” he said.

Abdul Rahman said the trial judge could not have arrived at any other verdict other than a guilty verdict.
“There is no basis for this court to interfere with the decision of the Sessions Court,” he said in dismissing Simon’s appeal against his conviction.

Jail terms to run concurrently

He said that the trial judge had not erred in principle and the sentence was neither grossly excessive nor grossly inadequate.

“There can be no argument that the offence is serious, compounded by the fact that the respondent was placed in a position of trust in relation to the victim.

“The victim was only 11 years at the material time and the respondent was 20 years older,” he said, adding that it was clear that Simon had taken advantage on the girl under his care.

“This sort of criminal conduct is unacceptable. What the respondent did to the victim is repulsive. It is a nightmare to any parents.

“The sentence of 36 years imprisonment and two strokes of the rotan for each charge is therefore appropriate. The appeals against sentence are dismissed,” he said.

Abdul Rahman also dismissed the prosecution’s appeal for the 18 years’ jail sentences for each charge to run consecutively.

Simon, a former teacher of SRS Datuk Simon Fung, was sentenced to 18 years’ jail and ordered to be whipped twice for the first count of raping the girl  between 2.10pm and 3.30pm on a day between February and March, 2010.

On the second count of raping the girl at the same place at 10.25am on March 26, 2010, he received another 18 years’ jail and two strokes of the cane.

Each of the charges under Section 376 (2) (e) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of between five and 30 years and whipping, on conviction.

Sikadol ordered the jail terms to run concurrently from the date of judgment.