Riduan Masmud's case became a national sensational in 2013 after he took the child as his second wife following his charging in court but claimed trial to the charge.
However, on Feb 3, 2014, Riduan had no choice but to receive the punishment for his offence when Sessions Court Judge Ummu Kalthom Abd Samad found him guilty of raping the pupil.
The court also handed two strokes of the cane to Riduan who is currently on bail pending a decision on his appeal against conviction and sentence.
The High Court would deliver its ruling on Riduan's appeal on Jan 5, 2015.
Riduan had raped the girl between 9am and 10m on Feb 18, 2013 inside a car parked by the side of the road near Kionsom Waterfall, Inanam.
Riduan was on June 23, 2014 also jailed three days and fined RM10,000 or two months behind bars after he admitted to corruptly making a marriage offer to the victim's father, stating that he would wed the girl provided she withdraws a rape report against him.
His case was one of the 32 rape cases reported throughout the year, accounting for a significant increase as in 2013 there were only 10 cases.
Another sensational case involved a Star party candidate for the Sulaman State seat during the 13th General Election who was charged with posting a seditious statement on Facebook.
However, David Orok, 49, claimed trial to the charge when he was brought to court on Sept 3, 2014.
He is waiting to be tried next year.
Orok is accused of posting the statement under his name between noon and 1.50pm on July 4 this year at a house in Kg Roun in Jalan Labuaya, Topokon in Tuaran.
He was charged under Section 4(1)© of the Sedition Act 1948 which carries a fine of up to RM5,000 or a jail term of up to three years, or both, on conviction.
Another case which made history in 2014 involved a 33-year-old woman Datuk who was sentenced to a total of 120 years in prison for money laundering and receiving deposits illegally from the public.
However, Datuk Noor Ismahanum Mohd Ismail from Perak, would only get to serve five years in prison as the Sessions Court ordered all the jail sentences to run concurrently. She had admitted to 117 charges, including that preferred against her company.
Ismahanum's company, Far East Berhad was fined RM2.575 million.
In these cases, Ismahanum received the illegal deposits through a scheme involving gold transactions at the Marina Court condominium along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen between Dec 6 and Dec 28, 2010.
She was charged together with her brother Ismahanif and the company branch manager Yong Thain Vun who claimed trial to the charge. Trial is on-going.
This year also saw two local men and a French woman charged with planting and having cannabis in two high-end condominium units at Signal Hill, Kota Kinabalu.
Jon Stephen Mosundu, 24, and Melissa Marie Commins, 31, were on Feb 6 jointly charged with planting the drug at 11.30am on Jan 29 in Jalan Bukit Bendera.
However, on May 1, Commins was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal from the charge after the prosecution decided to call her as a prosecution witness.
Jon had claimed trial to the charge after the chemist's report on the drug was tendered in court but is awaiting trial.
Meanwhile, the other man Ashley Ng Han Yang, 26, was charged with having 572gm of cannabis and for the offence, he could be punished with the death sentence if found guilty under Section 39B(1)(a).
Ng's case is also pending transfer to the High Court.
Another case that made people sit up this year involved three men who allegedly robbed the Penampang Servay Supermarket of RM497,348.75.
The trio were Carlos Aronson Z Binjoon, 22, Hayoup Khan Ghulam, 24, and Jason Lioel, 24, who claimed trial to the charge when they were brought in court on Nov 12.
Carlos was one of the supermarket's staff.
They were accused of robbing a worker of the supermarket and made off with the money at 2.30pm on Oct 27 in front of the Evergreen office at the Wong Kok Commercial Centre in Penampang.
The court fixed March 16-19, 2015 for trial and they were released on bail.
Daily Express
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