A man today failed to set aside his conviction for raping his 13-year-old step-daughter who later gave birth to a baby girl.

However, the Court of Appeal reduced the man’s sentence of 15 years’ jail and 15 strokes of the cane to 12 years and 10 strokes.

Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat sat with Court of Appeal judge Ahmadi Asnawi and High Court judge Kamardin Hashim in making the decision.

The man aged 39 pleaded guilty at the Temerloh Sessions Court on Aug 8, 2014, to committing the offence in an unnumbered house at a village in Temerloh between May 28, 2012, and June 7, 2012.

His appeal against conviction and sentence was dismissed by the Temerloh High Court on Dec 23, 2014.

In the appeal proceedings today, the man’s counsel Ng See Teong sought to remit the case to the Sessions Court for a trial, submitting that his client was unaware of the consequences when he pleaded guilty to the charge.

He said his client’s religion was animism and in his belief, it was acceptable to marry step-daughters, adding that in the village, there were about four families who had married their step-daughters.

According to the facts of the case, the girl’s biological father lodged a police report after the girl, who was staying with her mother and the man, became pregnant.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Mohd Zain Ibrahim argued that the man had acknowledged to the court that he understood the charge yet still pleaded guilty.

- Bernama