By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, April 10: A 19-year-old youth pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court here to charges linked to the distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material uncovered on his smartphone.
The plea was recorded before Judge Iris Awen Jon after two charges were read and explained to the accused through an interpreter.
According to the charge sheet, the teenager was accused of being involved in activities related to the trade of child pornography, an offence under Section 8 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017.
The law provides for a jail term of up to 15 years and a minimum of three strokes of the cane upon conviction.
He also admitted to a second offence under Section 10 of the same Act for possessing such material on his device, which carries a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine not exceeding RM10,000, or both.
The offences were alleged to have taken place at about 9.10pm on April 7, 2026, at a village in Bau.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Asmawi Nur Haqim Mokhtar subsequently applied for a new mention date to allow for the preparation of a social report, noting that the accused is a young offender.
Bail was not offered, as the charges are non-bailable, and to ensure the accused remains present for proceedings.
The court fixed May 12, 2026, for further mention pending the report from the Social Welfare Department. The accused was not represented by legal counsel.
In a related development, police had earlier arrested the teenager during a raid in Bau on April 8 at around 6.10pm, following prior intelligence.
Bau district police chief Superintendent Mohd Haide A. Rahman said checks on the suspect’s mobile phone uncovered 936 explicit videos and 4,035 pornographic images.
Initial investigations further revealed that the accused had accessed illicit websites involving both adult and child content and was believed to have conducted the sale of such material via the Telegram application while promoting it on social media.
He also reportedly admitted that the activity was used as a source of income. — DayakDaily
