Judge Hurman Hussain convicted the 45-year-old after he changed his plea to guilty to two charges in the middle of the trial at the Kota Kinabalu sessions court, reported The Borneo Post.

The lorry attendant was jailed for eight years and ordered to be given one stroke of the cane for touching the girl’s private parts at a house in Penampang, Sabah, in July 2023, when the victim was 13 years old.

He received a similar punishment for touching the victim’s breasts and hip in the kitchen of the same house in June 2024 when the victim was 14 years old.

The victim is currently 15 years old.

The court ordered the jail terms to run consecutively.

The accused was convicted under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and caning upon conviction.

The court also ordered him to undergo rehabilitative counselling while in prison.

Deputy public prosecutor Fazriel Fardiansyah Kadir appeared for the prosecution while the accused did not have legal representation.