Inanam: A Timorese man was sentenced to 10 years in prison and received two strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court for raping an underage girl whom he had befriended on TikTok.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Judge Monica Linsua delivered the sentence after Rafinus Bata Tukan, 30, from Timor Leste, pleaded guilty to the charge. The court ordered him to begin serving the sentence from his arrest date, December 19 of the previous year. Following the completion of his sentence, he will be referred to the Malaysian Immigration Department.

The case details revealed that the complaint was filed after the complainant's 15-year-old daughter went missing on December 7 of last year. The teenager had left home on December 6 with the accused on a motorcycle, having known him for approximately a month through TikTok. Subsequently, the victim informed her father that she had been raped by the accused at his rented room in Inanam around 7 pm on December 7.

A medical examination corroborated the victim's account, leading to the charges against the accused. He was charged under Section 376(2)(d) of the Penal Code, which stipulates a prison term ranging from 10 to 30 years and whipping upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Shaferrah Mad Iskim represented the prosecution, while the accused appeared in court without legal representation.