Sex assault on pupil earns 47 –year-old Malawi man 13 years jail term

Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court on Monday sentenced 47-year-old Hassan Laki to 13 years imprisonment with hard labour (IHL) for repeatedly defiling a 14-year-old primary school girl.

Lilongwe Police Station Spokesperson Inspector Kingsley Dandaula told Malawi News Agency (Mana) Wednesday that the convict had been defiling the girl from July to August 2015 when the news of his illicit behavior broke out.

“It is alleged that Laki who works as guard at Chipiku Shop in Nathenje met the girl who is a Standard 7 learner at Mwatibu Primary School in July 2015 when he offered  to be assisting her with money since they were both fasting.

“He gave her K200 the first time and told her to buy food, on another occasion he gave her K400 and continued giving her money until the money accumulated to K4,000. He eventually asked her to get into a relationship with him of which she refused,” said Dandaula.

The police spokesperson further said that because she had refused to go out with him, he started to demand his money back of which the girl could not give back and this prompted him to force her to be sleeping with him in return.

“He started sleeping with her from July to August 2015, later her relatives noticed that she was pregnant and reported the matter to Nathenje police,” he said.

She is said to have told police that Laki was responsible for the pregnancy prompting the law enforcers to arrest him on charges of defilement. He was convicted of the offense after police paraded several witnesses before Senior Resident Magistrate Chisomo Msokera.

In his mitigation, the convict pleaded for leniency saying he looks after his family and relatives, that he suffers from heart problems and that he is a first offender but State Prosecutor Sergeant Kefa Mwangonde asked the court to give him a stiffer sentence because the accused persons’ action was deplorable and that the Standard 7 girl was pregnant and traumatized.

In his ruling Magistrate Msokera concurred with the state that such cases were deplorable and rampant and went on to hand down the 13 years IHL to deter other would-be offenders.

Laki hails from M’deza village in the area of Traditional Authority Chadza in Lilongwe.-Mana

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