Teacher sentenced to 80 years jail for sex offences against students

A primary school disciplinary teacher in Beluran, Sabah was sentenced to a total of 80 years imprisonment and a total of 20 strokes of the cane on 14 charges of rape, molestation and sodomy on eight female pupils.

Sandakan Sessions Court judge Ummu Kalthom Abd Samad meted out the sentences on Freddie @ Ampat Unsin, 56, today.

For two charges of raping his pupils aged nine in November 2015 and a 10-year-old in March-July 2016 at the school he worked at in Beluran, Freddie was sentenced to 15 and 18 years imprisonment respectively and ordered to be given three and four strokes of the cane respectively.

Ummu Kalthom ordered the sentences to run concurrently from the date he was first charged on Dec 27, 2017.

She also ordered the sentences of a total of 43 years imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane for 11 charges of molestation to run consecutively after serving his time for the two rape charges.

Of the 11 molestation charges, three charges involving a total of 10 years imprisonment and three strokes of the cane were ordered to run concurrently.

Another three charges of molestation involving the same total number of jail term and whipping were also ordered to run concurrently.

Freddie was found guilty of the 11 molestation charges on his pupils aged six to 10 years old at the school between January and July 2016.

He was also found guilty of sodomising a 10-year-old pupil at the same school between June and July 2016 and was sentenced to four years imprisonment and one stroke of the cane to run consecutively from the other offences.

In delivering her ruling, Ummu Kalthom said the offences committed by the accused were serious as he was serving as a disciplinary teacher but took advantage of the child victims who were supposed to feel safe under his supervision at the school.

"Circumstances of the offences in this case showed resistance from the victims, but the accused's position as a teacher puts all the victims in helpless situations," she said.

During mitigation, counsel Hamida Ambo asked for a lenient punishment for her client as he was a first offender and was married with four children.

The hearing began on March 19 last year and Freddie was ordered to enter his defence on May 9 this year, with over 40 witnesses testifying.

Deputy public prosecutor Mark Netto appeared for the prosecution.

- Bernama