The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is appealing against the recent judgement passed by the Lhamoi Dzingkha Dungkhag Court that sentenced a 35 years old man for 23 years in prison for two counts of rape of a child above twelve years, two counts of incest and two counts of battery.
OAG in its petition, filed yesterday, stated that the crimes the convict committed are immoral. The report also claimed that the nature of the crime and the sentencing thereof would set a bad precedent to others and it has also defamed the country. Therefore the OAG appealed the court to sentence the convict with maximum sentencing.
The petition also stated that the nature of the crimes committed by the convict would haunt the girls their entire lives. Therefore OAG requests for the maximum consecutive sentencing for all the crimes he committed. The Penal code of Bhutan grades the rape of a child above twelve years with a second-degree felony and it has a prison term of nine years to a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Similarly, OAG also requests the court not to club the Incest and Battery sentences together but to deliver the maximum sentences separately in both the counts. The Dungkhag Court, earlier, sentenced the convict to 3 years in prison for two counts of Incest and Battery.
The case will proceed with its hearing from Dagana District Court.
Namgay Wangchuk
