High Court Judge Professor Redson Kapindu has sentenced child sex offender Zaeshan Jaral Raja to 50 years in jail after the convict appealed against a 24-year jail term handed to him by a lower court.
Raja, a Pakistan national, has been sentenced to 30 years for child sexual abuse and 20 years for abducting the child.
In 2016, a girl aged 16 went missing for two weeks and her parents were tipped that their daughter was seen in the suspect’s shop which is within Liwonde Township.
The girl’s parents went to ask the suspect about reports that he was keeping the child but he denied. The parents reported the matter to Liwonde Police who went to the suspect’s house.
When the police asked of the whereabouts of the girl, the suspect again denied keeping her. But upon searching the house, the girl was found hidden in a deep freezer which was not connected to electricity.
The Chief Resident Magistrate at Zomba registry later convicted and sentenced Raja to 16 years in prison for defilement and 8 years for abduction.
However, Raja appealed at the High Court where his sentenced has been doubled to 30 years for defilement and 20 years for abduction.
Judge Kapindu has also ordered the department of Immigration to deport Raja to Pakistan after he serves the sentence.
