By DayakDaily Team
MUKAH, Aug 29: A 56-year-old male teacher is facing 10 charges of sexually assaulting female students at a primary school in the Mukah district.
The accused was brought before the Mukah Sessions Court on Friday (Aug 28), where the charges were read before Judge Musyiri Peet at about 10am.
According to the charges, the accused allegedly committed the acts against 10 female children while serving as a teacher.
The alleged offences took place in the school’s science laboratory and classrooms between 2022 and 2024.
Mukah district police chief DSP Muhamad Rizal Alias said the case came to light after a secondary school counsellor in Mukah lodged a police report on Aug 7 following a complaint from one of the victims.
“Following the report, a team from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Mukah District Police Headquarters (IPD) conducted an investigation before arresting the accused for further investigation and action,” he said in a statement.
The accused was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, read together with Section 16(1) of the same Act.
If convicted, the accused faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment and whipping for each charge.
The additional punishment under Section 16(1) provides for imprisonment of up to five years and whipping of not less than two strokes.
The accused, who was represented by a lawyer, did not enter any plea to all 10 charges.
The court granted bail of RM2,000 for each charge with two local sureties, bringing the total bail amount to RM20,000.
The accused has paid bail, and the case is fixed for mention on Oct 20. — DayakDaily
