Electrician now has to serve jail term for statutory rape

The Star
by SIMREN KAUR

GEORGE TOWN: An electrician, who was bound over on a good behaviour bond for statutory rape in August, has been ordered to serve a jail term upon appeal.

High Court judge Datuk Seri Zakaria Sam on Monday ordered Chuah Guan Jiu, 22, to serve five and a half years jail for raping a minor.

Zakaria said that consent is irrelevant in statutory rape and set aside the RM25,000 good behavior bond for three years by the Sessions court in August.

On July 20, the court found Chuah guilty of raping the girl, then aged 12 years and 10 months, at his flat in Air Itam between 7am and 1pm on July 18 last year, and between 2.25pm and 2.45pm the next day.

The offence under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code carries a maximum jail sentence of 20 years and whipping.

The sentencing was criticised as it came in the wake of the case of former national youth squad bowler Noor Afizal Azizan who was also bound over for good behaviour for five years after he pleaded guilty to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.

There was public uproar on Aug 8 when the Court of Appeal allowed Noor Afizal's appeal against a High Court's decision to sentence him to five years jail for the offence.