Chencho Dema

A 46-year-old man who was arrested and detained by the Punakha police on February 27 this year for allegedly raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter, was sentenced to nine years in prison by the Punakha court yesterday.

The court convicted the defendant in accordance with the Penal Code (Amendment) Act of Bhutan 2011 which grades the crime as a second-degree felony carrying a prison term of a minimum of nine years and a maximum of fifteen years.

According to the Penal Code, a person is deemed guilty of rape of a child above the age of twelve years if they engage in any act of sexual act with a child between the ages of 12 to 18 years.

Meanwhile, upon release from prison, the convict will be required to pay child alimony.

The case arose from a complaint filed by the suspect’s wife. The incident occurred on February 26, during a verbal argument between the suspect and his 41-year-old wife from Trashiyangtse. Following the dispute, Paro police were notified of the matter.

Since the crime was committed in Punakha, the case was transferred to the Punakha police on February 27, leading to the detention of the convict. Prior to his arrest the convict was residing in Paro town with his wife and stepdaughter.

The convict is from Sewla village in Chubu gewog in Punakha.

The  convict was a former police constable.  He also fathered a child with the victim and the child is less than two years old.

Sources told Kuensel that the convict began molesting the victim  a few years ago when she was living in Punakha with her mother and stepfather. From Punakha they moved to Paro. The  suspect had included the victim in the census with him as his daughter. While their child is not registered with the census.

The convict has two children from the mother of the victim who are also living with his sister. The victim’s mother is residing in Paro and works as one of the weavers for a handicraft shop in Paro.