By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Jan 19: A 37-year-old boarding school teacher pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to two counts of physically sexually assaulting a 15-year-old male student last year.
The accused was charged before Judge Noorhisham Mohd Jaafar under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017, read together with Section 16 of the same Act.
According to the charges, the man allegedly touched the private parts of the teenage victim on two separate occasions. The offences are said to have occurred in a warden’s room at a boarding school in Kuching in October and on Dec 10 last year.
During the proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Chuah Kai Sheng did not offer bail as the charges are non-bailable offences.
However, the prosecution, taking into consideration that the accused remains a serving public officer, proposed a cash bail of RM20,000 with two local sureties.
Additional conditions required the accused to report monthly to a nearby police station.
Defence counsel Simon Siah appealed for bail, stating that his client is currently assigned to a district education office, which requires daily attendance. He further submitted that the accused is the sole breadwinner of his family, supporting a 10-year-old child.
Judge Noorhisham granted the accused bail at a reduced amount of RM10,000, without deposit, with two local sureties. The court also upheld the condition requiring the accused to report to the police monthly.
The judge fixed Feb 16 for case management. — DayakDaily
