The Court of Appeal upheld a 10-year jail term and two strokes of the cane for a man convicted of sodomising a teenager in 2020.

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today upheld the 10-year jail sentence and two strokes of the cane imposed on a man for sodomising a teenager in 2020.

A three-member bench led by Justice Datuk Azman Abdullah unanimously dismissed the appeal by C. Logenthiran against his conviction and sentence.

Justice Azman stated the court’s record showed no conditional plea of guilt had been made by the appellant prior to his sentencing in the Sessions Court.

He noted that Logenthiran’s plea of guilt was not defective as it was made with full knowledge and his admission was consistent with the facts of the charge.

The appellant was represented by lawyer M. Kartan from the National Legal Aid Foundation during the appeal.

Kartan argued that his client had made a conditional plea of guilt as part of an informal plea bargain and that the case should have been remitted for trial.

He also informed the court that his client is a transgender individual who had undergone certain procedures to become a woman.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hafizah Johor Ariff Johor submitted that the charge had been fully explained to and understood by the appellant.

She further submitted that Logenthiran did not raise any issue regarding a conditional plea or informal bargaining during the earlier proceedings.

The Kuala Kangsar Sessions Court had originally sentenced Logenthiran in 2024 after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

He was convicted of committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature on a 15-year-old victim at a temple in Hulu Perak, Perak, in February 2020.

The Sessions Court also ordered him to undergo counselling in prison and to remain under police supervision for two years after his release.

The High Court subsequently dismissed Logenthiran’s initial appeal and upheld the Sessions Court’s decision in 2025.

 The Sun Malaysia