Mior Saifuldin Bin Mior Sharuddin v Pendakwa Raya [Pegawai Pendakwa (PDRM)]

Case Significance

Confirms that a substitute judge may continue a part-heard criminal trial under section 261 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and that a delayed report by a child complainant does not by itself render her evidence unreliable, in upholding a conviction and sentence for rape of a minor.

This High Court decision at Shah Alam concerns an appeal against conviction and sentence for the rape of a child, an offence under section 376 of the Penal Code. The appellant had been convicted by the Sessions Court at Ampang, which was satisfied at the close of the defence that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, and had sentenced him accordingly; the charge concerned an act committed against a girl who was 14 years old at the material time, the appellant being her uncle. On appeal, several grounds were pressed. The first was that the replacement of the original Sessions Court judge with another had prejudiced the appellant's rights, but the High Court held that section 261 of the Criminal Procedure Code had been complied with, the substitute judge being entitled to continue the trial after the first judge was transferred. The appellant also challenged the acceptability of the complainant's evidence, given that the report had been made some years after the 2019 incident, whether the element of sexual intercourse, including penetration, had been proved, and whether his defence was no more than a bare denial and an afterthought. The High Court found that the delay in reporting did not render the complainant's account unreliable, that the element of the offence had been established on the evidence, and that the defence amounted to a bare denial that did not raise a reasonable doubt. On sentence, the Court considered whether the punishment imposed was manifestly excessive, but held it to be commensurate with the gravity of the offence and within the range permitted by law, emphasising the public interest and the protection of society, particularly given the breach of the trust reposed in the appellant by the child's family. The appeal against both conviction and sentence was dismissed and the Sessions Court's decision affirmed.