Tawau man who forced daughter to book rooms where he raped her gets 105 years’ prison

TAWAU, July 21 — A 53-year-old man was sentenced to 105 years in prison and 70 strokes of the cane by the Tawau Sessions Court after pleading guilty to seven counts of raping his eldest daughter, in a case prosecutors described as premeditated and aggravated by emotional manipulation.

Judge Ahmad Faizadh Yahaya handed down the sentence immediately after the man pleaded guilty to all charges read against him.

The court also ordered him to undergo counselling throughout his imprisonment and to be placed under police supervision for three years upon release, Sinar Harian reported.

According to the charges, the man raped his biological daughter, now 25, at several hotels in Tawau between December 2025 and March 2026.

He was charged under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment and whipping upon conviction — with the punishment applied cumulatively across the seven charges.

Emotional coercion and calculated planning

Court documents revealed that the accused used emotional threats against his own daughter, repeatedly invoking the sacrifices he had made in covering family expenses and her education before pressuring her to book hotel rooms where the assaults took place.

The victim, now 25, told investigators she had been unable to refuse her father’s demands, having long been emotionally influenced by his justifications.

Investigations further found that the accused would obtain his daughter’s work schedule to determine her days off before instructing her to book a hotel room. He would then travel from Lahad Datu to Tawau to carry out the assaults — a pattern prosecutors argued demonstrated clear premeditation.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Muhammad Haikal Md Yatin and Wildan Firdaus Ahmad Fazly, who led the prosecution, urged the court to impose the maximum sentence, citing the gravity of the offence committed against the accused’s own child and its calculated nature.

The prosecution argued that the accused’s actions — tracking the victim’s work schedule and directing her to book hotel rooms before travelling from Lahad Datu to Tawau — clearly showed the crimes were planned in advance.

In his plea for leniency, the accused, who was unrepresented by counsel, told the court he felt ashamed and feared the sentence he would receive, asking for a reduced punishment so he could have the opportunity to apologise to his family members.

Second conviction in months

This is not the first time the man has been convicted of sexually abusing his children. On 8 April, the Lahad Datu Sessions Court sentenced him to 165 years in prison and 110 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to 11 counts of raping his two daughters.

In that earlier case, he was found to have raped both his daughters, now aged 25 and 22, at several locations in Lahad Datu between 2016 and 2026.