JUDGMENT

Nordin Hassan FCJ:

Introduction

[1] The appellant is appealing against the majority decision of the Court of Appeal in affirming the decision of the trial judge that convicted the appellant for an offence of rape under s 376(1) of the Penal Code. The High Court , after convicting the appellant, has sentenced him to 13 years' imprisonment and 2 strokes of the whip. The majority of the Court of Appeal, however, reduced the sentence to 8 years' imprisonment and maintained the 2 strokes of whipping.

[2] The charge against the appellant reads as follows:

"Bahawa kamu pada 7 Julai 2019 di antara jam lebih kurang 8:15 malam hingga 9:15 malam, di dalam sebuah bilik di tingkat atas dalam rumah No 52, Jalan Desa Meru 2, Meru Desa Park, Bandar Meru Jaya, 30020 Ipoh, di dalam daerah Kinta, di dalam negeri Perak telah melakukan rogol terhadap Awang (No. Pasport: AU 3598249) dan dengan itu kamu telah melakukan suatu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah s 376(1) Kanun Keseksaan"

The Application By PW15 And PW16 For Their Identities Not To Be Disclosed Under Section 265A Of The Criminal Procedure Code (CPC)

[3] Before PW15 and PW16 testified in Court , they made an application through the