By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Sept 26: A 42-year-old teacher was sentenced to 15 years in prison and five strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here today after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old male student in 2020.
Judge Iris Awen Jon delivered the verdict following a full trial, ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt on one of the charges filed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017.
However, the court acquitted the accused on two other charges under the same law after finding there was sufficient doubt in the prosecution’s evidence.
For the first and third charges, the court finds that the accused successfully raised a reasonable doubt. He is therefore acquitted and discharged.
But for the second charge, the prosecution has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The accused is convicted under Section 14(a) of SOACA 2017.
The judge ordered the prison term to commence immediately but granted a stay of execution pending appeal, considering the circumstances of the case and trial process.
According to court records, the accused was charged with sexually assaulting two male pupils and a female pupil, all aged 12 at the time, at a government school in Petra Jaya.
In the charge that led to his conviction, he was accused of pulling on a boy’s genitals for sexual purposes between 9am and 10am on January 14, 2020, inside a classroom.
He was also previously charged with kissing another male student on the cheek and touching his genitals, as well as groping a girl’s chest in a separate incident on January 19, 2020, but was acquitted of those allegations.
The case has gone through lengthy proceedings. In May 2022, the Sessions Court initially acquitted the accused of all three charges, ruling that the prosecution had not established a prima facie case. However, the High Court later overturned that decision in November 2024, ordering him to enter his defence.
The teacher testified under oath in November 2024, and three defence witnesses were called in June 2025 before both sides submitted written arguments in July and August.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Aiman Mutalib Muhammad Shariff conducted the case, while the accused was represented by lawyers Steven Beti and Gerald Donald. — DayakDaily
