Bandar Seri Begawan - A 33-year-old police personnel was found guilty by the Intermediate Court yesterday of three charges of raping his daughter on three separate occasions - when the victim was seven years old in 2007, in 2010, and more recently in August 2011.

The court heard that the first rape incident occurred when she was seven years old at the Seria Police Barracks in Kuala Belait, at the Lamunin Police Barracks in Tutong when she was 10, and the most recent at a house in Kg Panaga, Kuala Belait. The case was reported to the police sometime in August 2011. Investigations were carried out by the Women and Children Abuse Investigation Unit, Criminal Investigation Department.

The defendant had earlier denied all three rape charges against him including a charge of sodomy.

A trial was held where the prosecution had called eight witnesses to prove its case. On June 2, 2012, the Intermediate Court ruled that the prosecution had made out a prima facie case against the defendant for all the three rape charges but ruled that there was no prima facie case made out against the defendant for the sodomy charge.

During the delivery of the judgment yesterday, the court believed the testimony of the prosecution witnesses, which included the victim, and said that her evidence was corroborated, by the victim's medical evidence and the victim's psychologist report. The defendant was therefore convicted after the trial.

Defence Counsel Rozaiman Rahman then sought for a stay of execution on grounds that the defendant's wife is expecting a baby.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Pg Hjh Hana Molina Pg Hj Mohamad objected the Defence Counsel's application as the defendant had been convicted for three serious charges. The Intermediate Court denied the defence counsel's application for stay and ordered for the defendant to be placed under custody pending his sentence.

The case was heard before Judge Lim Siew Yen.