The First Grade Magistrate Court in Balaka has sentenced a 22-year-old man Alinafe Maxwell to four years imprisonment for raping a 50-year- old woman.

State Prosecutor Inspector Baldwin Msukwa told the court that on 7th May, this year the convict found the victim at her maize garden and he dragged her into a Maize field and raped her.

In mitigation, Maxwell, who has a hearing problem, pleaded with the Magistrate Court to be lenient because he is the only son with a hearing problem.

The convict hails from Sakazao village, Traditional Authority Nkaya in Balaka.