A sessions court has awarded a collective sentence of over 26 years in prison to a man in a sexual abuse case. Additional Sessions Judge (Central) Mirza Tauseef Ahmed found Muhammad Afzal guilty of “committing acts of sexual abuse and attempt to commit rape upon a minor girl.”
The court sentenced the man to 14-year imprisonment for offence of sexual abuse as punishable under Section 377-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). He was handed twleve and a half years in prison for attempt to commit rape under Section 376(3) of the PPC.
The convict was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs1 million or undergo additional one year imprisonment. “Both the substantive sentences shall run concurrently,” said the judge. According to state prosecutor Hina Naz Shams, on December 27, 2022, the minor victim went to a nearby hotel to buy breakfast when a person who worked there took her to his home by enticing her with Rs1,000 and attempted to rape her. However, upon her cries he let go of her.
She contended that the prosecution had fully proved the charge through material witnesses, including statement of the victim, which was consistent and confidence-inspiring and the same has also been corroborated by her mother and circumstantial evidence as well as through investigation process.
The prosecutor said the accused brought the victim to his house after his wife went to work and his children were at school and attempted to rape her, adding that he left the victim out of fear after she raised a hue and cry. She said that the accused did commit acts of molestation and was thus liable for conviction for committing the offence of sexual abuse as well as attempt of rape. In his statement, the accused denied the charges and claimed that he had been falsely implicated in this case.
