The Intermediate Court recently sentenced a local man to nine years and six months’ jail, with four whippings after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting and sodomising his nephew.
The defendant, whose name is withheld, claimed trial to Deputy Public Prosecutor Raihan Nabilah binti Haji Ahmad Ghazali’s charges.
It was earlier alleged the defendant of having sexually assaulted his 14-year-old nephew on two counts, and one count of sodomising him at a flathouse in the Brunei-Muara District sometime between February and April 2022. Judge Pengiran Masni binti Pengiran Haji Bahar found the prosecution’s evidence to have satisfied the court beyond reasonable doubt, convicted the defendant and handed the sentence on November 13.
The Judge highlighted facts where the defendant had abused the trust as an uncle to the victim and his position of being a favourite in the bigger family.
The defendant was found not remorseful on claiming trial at first. From evidence during the trial, it started when the defendant called his nephew into a room to massage him. He played the same modus operandi in two other occasions.
The defendant then forced the victim to perform sexual acts on him on two occasions and sodomising him on one.
The Judge also reiterated the deterrence needed in handing punishments to such offenders in similar circumstances.
“The protection towards vulnerable children from harm and injury is of exceedingly high importance to the court,” the Judge highlighted. – Fadley Faisal
