KUCHING: A convicted serial rapist who yesterday appealed against three rape convictions instead received additional 14 strokes of rotan to the six ordered by the High Court.

The Court of Appeal (CA) however maintained the total of 49 years’ imprisonment passed by a Sessions Court on Oct 16, 2003 against the 40-year-old appellant, Siang A’en.

Siang from Kampung Serpan Laut in Asajaya appeared before judges Datuk Wira Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff, Datuk James Foong Cheng Yuen and Datuk Sulaiman Daud.

The three judges agreed that Siang’s appeal against a Jan 13, 2005 High Court decision affirming the Sessions Court’s jail penalty had no merit.

They also reversed the High Court decision in reducing the number of strokes of rotan from 20 to six against Siang following the prosecution’s counter-appeal to reinstate 20 strokes of rotan passed by the Sessions Court.

Judge Ghazali said Siang’s appeal including a request for clemency had no merit in as far as the law was concerned.

Earlier DPP Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that the modus operandi of Siang’s gang in 2002 was such that they intended to create terror among members of the public, particularly the victims.

“They were on a raping spree and putting terror into the hearts of the victims,” he said, adding that the gang also managed to terrify members of the public in areas and roads where they committed the heinous crime.

Siang was convicted under Section 376 of the Penal Code following his admission of guilt to raping three women on different occasions.

Firstly, he raped a 17-year-old girl between 6.30am and 8pm on March 13, 2002 inside a hut in Kampung Sui’e at Jalan Asajaya in Kota Samarahan.

The girl was going to school on her bicycle when several men abducted and forced her into a van in Bintawa here.

The men then tied her hands and legs before taking her to the hut where Siang raped her.

Afterwards they dropped her off near a newspaper publishing company in Bintawa.

Siang also raped another 17-year-old girl at the riverbank of Sungai Bako at Demak Laut here between 8pm on June 15 and 12.30am on June 16, 2002.

The girl was using a public telephone booth at a five-foot-way in Jalan Ang Cheng Ho when several men abducted her and forced her into the van.

In the third case, Siang raped a 20-year-old woman inside a hut in Demak Laut between 9.30pm and 11pm on June 19, 2002.

The woman was walking with her aunt at Three Hills Park in Pending here when several men approached, forced her into the van and sped away with the victim, leaving the other woman behind.

For the record, the three rape cases were not Siang’s only convictions.

On May 8, 2003 another Sessions Court sentenced him to a total of 39 years’ imprisonment on top of receiving a total of 22 strokes of the rotan for raping a 23-year-old woman on two occasions.

He also had previous theft convictions in the 1990s.

In 2003 the notorious Siang did not show any remorse at all.

He even challenged the Sessions Court to sentence him to death — an issue which the Court found irrelevant and petty.

Afterwards he proudly gestured by showing four of his fingers to members of the media suggesting that he had in fact raped four women within four months.

Yesterday Siang cursed and spit at a female Chinese daily reporter when members of the press were taking photographs of him outside the courtroom.

The Prison Department has considered Siang, who most likely would serve time behind bars until his death, as a “high risk” prisoner with nothing to lose.