Wednesday May 22, 2013
Bangladeshi jailed for raping teen – and wants to wed her
GEORGE TOWN: A Bangladeshi, who pleaded leniency for raping an underage, mentally retarded girl by saying that he intended to marry her, was jailed 15 years and ordered to be given 10 strokes of the rotan.
Shirajul Islam, 34, who also fathered a child with the girl, was found guilty by a Sessions Court here of raping the then 17-year-old from 4pm to 6pm between January and February in 2011 at a flat in Paya Terubong.
In pleading for leniency, counsel S. Yagoo said Shirajul, who worked as a grasscutter, was regretful and intended to marry the girl.
“He is in love with her and he also wants his child back. He has no intention of betraying her.
“Even after the incident, he still treats her with love and care. He also did not know that she was retarded,” he told the court yesterday.
Yagoo said Shirajul, who had a lot of debts back in Bangladesh, had come to Malaysia to work.
The offence under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping.
Giving her victim impact statement later, the girl, now 19, broke down in tears when she recounted that she only spent 14 days with her baby before giving the child up for adoption.
She also said she had felt angry and sad after the incident.
The girl's stepmother, who also gave a statement, said her stepdaughter's future had been affected.
Deputy public prosecutor S. Selvaranjini urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence as the victim had been traumatised.
Sessions judge Sitarun Nisa Abdul Aziz ordered Shirajul to serve his jail sentence from his date of arrest on July 6, 2011.
