The Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld the decision made by Royal Brunei Armed Forces’ court martial in sentencing its personnel to 20 years’ jail and eight whippings on multiple charges of sodomy and sexual assault of fellow personnel during the first-of-its-kind hearing.
Awang Mohammad Khairul Hazwan bin Haji Maidin, who was a captain at the time, pleaded guilty on March 21 before the court martial to sodomising three personnel aged between 19 and 20 and sexually assaulting 13 personnel aged between 19 and 23 between January 2020 and July 2021.
Judge advocate Muhammed Faisal bin PDJ DSP Haji Kefli and six other military officers found the mitigating circumstances of the case were outweighed by aggravating factors, and thus believed in a sentence that carried a strong deterrent message to the Forces as well as the public.
-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin