PUTRAJAYA • A Malaysian man has been jailed for a total of 48 years for sexually abusing and sodomising his daughter over 600 times, including sodomising the teen at a hotel room in Mecca when they were performing the Muslim Umrah pilgrimage.

Judge Yong Zarida Sazali of the special court for sexual crimes yesterday meted out the jail term to the 36-year-old man after he pleaded guilty to a total of 623 charges of sexually abusing and sodomising his 15-year-old daughter, The Star reported.

Judge Yong Zarida jailed the man, a divorcee, for a total of 28 years for committing incest; physical sexual assault without intercourse; and abusing, neglecting and sexually abusing the eldest of his three daughters.

She also sentenced the man, a unit trust agent, to a total of 20 years' jail for sodomising the teen.

The man's identity has not been disclosed to protect the victim.

The judge ordered the man's sentences to run consecutively from July 26, the day he was nabbed.

The man covered his head as he was brought into the courtroom at about 8.40am.

His younger brother and family members were present in court.

He appeared calm as the sentences were read out.

According to the charges, he sodomised the girl three times daily between January and July this year, except for two days before Ramadan and the first day of the fasting month in May.

The incidents occurred at their apartment in Petaling Jaya in Selangor.

Based on the facts of the case, the accused sodomised his eldest daughter for the first time while they were performing Umrah in Mecca on April 3, 2015.

She was 13 years old then.

Local media previously reported that the man had custody of the victim after he divorced his wife two years ago.

Reports said the girl only told her mother of the abuse after she found out that her father was planning to take her two younger sisters away from their mother to live with him.

The man was arrested after the mother lodged a police report in July.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim was present during the court proceedings, reported the New Straits Times.

Datuk Seri Rohani said she hoped the sentence would serve as a lesson.

"I hope this case can increase public awareness about crimes against children," she said.