Former anti-vice police chief jailed 40 years for rape

The jail term was reduced from 80 years on appeal for raping and sodomising a 13-year-old girl five years ago.

PUTRAJAYA: A former Sabah anti-vice police chief was sent to jail for 40 years and ordered to be whipped 15 times for raping and sodomising a 13-year-old girl five years ago.

Rohaizat Abd Ani, 58, who was a former deputy superintendent, lost his final appeal at the Court of Appeal today to set aside the rape and sodomy convictions meted out to him by the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court in Sabah.

His jail term was, however, slashed by half from 80 years to 40 after the court’s three-man panel of judges ordered him to serve his jail sentences for three rape charges concurrently instead of consecutively.

His counsel, Geethan Ram Vincent, said taking into account the one-third remission of jail term for good behaviour, Rohaizat would be behind bars for 27 years until the age of 85.

Rohaizat, who wore a black jacket, appeared to be composed when the decision was delivered by the court.

A court interpreter was seen relating the court’s verdict to him. He was taken to the lock-up in the court building after the verdict was handed down.

Justice Mohd Zawawi Salleh, who presided with justices Ahmadi Asnawi and Kamardin Hashim, issued a warrant of committal against Rohaizat to commit him to prison since he had been released on bail pending disposal of his appeal today.

Rohaizat was convicted by the Sessions Court of four counts of raping the girl and one count of sodomy, which he allegedly committed at Tang Dynasty Hotel, Kota Kinabalu, between Feb 1, 2012 and May 6, 2012.

He lost his appeal at the High Court, prompting him to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The Sessions Court had sentenced him to 20 years’ jail each and three strokes of the cane each for the first and second charge of raping and sodomising the minor, the jail terms to run concurrently, and another 20 years each and three whippings each for the other three rape charges, to run consecutively.

Justice Mohd Zawawi dismissed Rohaizat’s appeal on his convictions but allowed his appeal for a reduction of his jail term by requiring him to serve the 20-year jail sentence for three rape charges concurrently instead of consecutively.

Rohaizat was ordered to begin his 20-year jail term for the three rape charges after the completion of his jail term for the first two charges.

Justice Zawawi said there was sufficient evidence to support Rohaizat’s convictions.

At one point in the proceeding, Justice Zawawi described the case as a “crime of temptation” when deputy public prosecutor Hamdan Hamzah told the court that Rohaizat was formerly a law enforcement officer.

Hamdan argued that the victim was a credible witness and that there was no reason for her to implicate Rohaizat, adding that she delayed lodging the police report because she was afraid they would not believe her story.

Geethan Ram earlier submitted that the girl implicated Rohaizat because she was angry with her mother, to whom Rohaizat was giving financial support.

He said there were contradictions in the evidence given by the girl, whom he described as a brilliant person who claimed that she was forced by her mother to have sexual intercourse to settle her mother’s debts, as her mother had given a different version.

Rohaizat, in his defence at the Sessions Court, denied raping or sodomising the girl but admitted to having sex with two woman, including the mother of the victim.