KOTA KINABALU: A 38-year-old soldier was sentenced to 23 years' imprisonment and ordered to be given 15 strokes of the rotan for raping his teenage daughter three years ago.

       Sessions Court judge Elsie Primus meted out the sentence on Monday (Sept 27) after she found the soldier guilty of a charge of raping his then 13-year-old daughter at a house in Lok Kawi in Papar district near here at around 9am on April 7, 2018.

       In finding him guilty, the court said the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and ordered the soldier to undergo two years' supervision after his jail term.

       The soldier was charged under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of between eight and 30 years, and whipping, upon conviction.

       He was charged on June 8, 2018. The prosecution had presented nine witnesses, including his daughter, during the course of the trial.

       In the initial proceedings, the court was told that the soldier's wife and children were no longer staying with him and the victim was under the protection of the Welfare Department.