JOHOR BARU - A MALAYSIAN metal factory worker was sentenced to 36 years' jail and six strokes of the rotan for raping his 14-year-old daughter.

The Sessions Court here found the accused guilty of two charges on Wednesday.

Under the first charge, the factory worker was accused of committing the offence in the middle of April 2004 at around 2pm at a house in Pekan Nenas, Pontian.

The second charge accused him of committing a similar offence between 4pm and 5pm in December 2005.

In mitigation, the accused, who represented himself, asked for a lenient sentence since it was his first offence.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Zairani Tugiran asked the court to impose a deterrent sentence as incest was becoming rampant.

'Fathers are supposed to protect their children, not destroy them,' she said.

In reading out his verdict, judge Aliman Musri sentenced the accused to 18 years' jail and three strokes of the rotan for each charge.

He ordered the sentences to run consecutively starting from the date of arrest on June 10, 2006.

After the court adjourned, the accused, who was dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, started crying and begged for forgiveness from his family, including the victim who was present in court. - The Star/ANN.