Mohd Faddil Abdul Rahman, 42, was convicted by the Seremban High Court last year on two counts of raping the then 12-year-old girl, who had gone to his house in Sept 2013 to study.
He was sentenced to eight years’ jail and two strokes of the cane for each offence, with the jail terms to run concurrently.
He was initially acquitted and discharged by the Sessions Court on Jan 20, 2014 based on testimony by a medical expert, which was corroborated by his wife that he suffered from impotency at the time of the alleged offence. However, the High Court overturned the decision after allowing the prosecution’s appeal.
Faddil subsequently filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal.
A three-man bench of the Court of Appeal, chaired by its president Md Raus Sharif, unanimously dismissed Faddil’s appeal and maintained the eight years’ jail term and two strokes of canning.
Justice Raus also dismissed the prosecution’s cross-appeal for an increase in the jail term, saying that although the court agreed the offence was serious, there was no reason for the appellate court to alter the sentences as the High Court had taken into account the seriousness of the offence.
Deputy public prosecutor Tengku Intan Suraya Tengku Ismail told the court that Faddil had gone to an andrologist for examination, eight months after the rape incident and was found to be suffering from impotency.
She said the medical expert’s findings were not conclusive because the answers given by the andrologist on the witness stand was “probable”, which showed he was unsure of when Faddil suffered impotency.
Tengku Intan said Faddil did not submit his medical history to show that he suffered from impotency at the time of the incident.
She also pressed for a heavier jail sentence saying that Faddil took advantage of the girl twice.
Faddil’s counsel, Hanif Hassan, submitted that the High Court, in setting aside his client’s acquittal, had failed to consider the evidence of the medical expert and Faddil’s wife that he (Faddil) suffered from impotency.
According to the facts of the case, the incident took place when there was no one in the house and the girl was also made to perform oral sex on the teacher.
The victim recalled the assault in graphic detail, including a description of her attacker’s privates.