A 21-year-old undocumented Filipino in Sabah who admitted to having sex with his underage girlfriend was sentenced Wednesday to an 18-month imprisonment by a Sabah court and ordered deported to the Philippines after serving his term.
Sabah Sessions Court Judge Supang Lian charged Mohd Firdaus Abdullah under Malaysia’s Penal code that carries a 20-year imprisonment and caning, the Sabah Times reported.
Mohd, according to the report, confessed to having intercourse with the girl who was under 16 at the Hotel Inanam on Dec 8, 2008.
"I did not force her. I like her, I don’t want to be whipped, just give me a longer custodial sentence," Mohd said, adding that he wanted to marry the girl after his incarceration.
The victim’s father had lodged a police report on Dec. 8 after finding out that his daughter had sex with the accused in a hotel. She was taken to the Likas Hospital on the same day and a medical report confirmed a torn hymen, the report said.
The Sabah Times said the girl had been acquainted with Mohd since 2007.
The girl and the Filipino had sex for the third time before they were caught by the victim’s father.
Every year, hundreds of Filipinos enter Sabah illegally through Mindanao in search of a better life.
Most of the undocumented Filipinos in Sabah hail from Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and other far-flung provinces in the south that are among the Philippines’ poorest and constantly plagued by war.
It is believed that close to 200,000 Filipinos are working and staying illegally in Sabah, but the figures, according to Malaysian immigration authorities, could be higher.
Sabah, which is located south of Mindanao, is an island territorially disputed by the Philippines and Malaysia. A Philippine claim for sovereignty over island has laid dormant for decades in international courts. Michaela P. del Callar
Back to top
For comments about this website:Webmaster@tribune.net.ph
The Daily Tribune © 2006
