A Pakistani court on Tuesday sentenced a 60-year-old disabled man to six-year imprisonment for sexually abusing an eight-year-old girl.
Lahore's Additional District and Sessions Judge Rahmat Ali announced the verdict as prosecution established the case that suspect, Muzaffar Hussain, sexually abused the girl at his house.
However, the prosecution failed to establish that the suspect committed rape.
The convict was present in the court on a wheelchair when the judge announced the verdict. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 500,000 on him.
In case of his failure to pay the fine, he will have to serve five more years in jail.
Lahore police had lodged a case in 2017 against the convict under sections 376, 364, and 377-A & B of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The sections deal with offence of rape, kidnapping and sexual abuse. The incident took place at Batapur area close to Wagah border. Police arrested the suspect later last year.
Advocate Hashim Niazi, the convict's counsel, argued in the court that police medical report had clearly established that Hussain was unable to perform the alleged act of rape, therefore, police at a later stage on investigation included offences of sexual abuse and kidnapping in the FIR.
He claimed that the girl's father implicated Hussain in a false case only to settle a property dispute with him.