By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, July 31: A 50-year-old male teacher pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to five charges of committing physical sexual assault against a 16-year-old male student at a secondary school in Serian.
The accused entered his plea before two separate Sessions Court judges Iris Awen Jon and Zuraidah Zakaria.
For three of the charges, framed under Section 14(c) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (SOACA) 2017 and punishable under Section 14, read together with Section 16 of the same Act, the accused is alleged to have committed physical sexual assault for sexual purposes by compelling the victim to touch his own genitals.
The offences allegedly took place on three separate occasions in mid-August 2023, September 2023, and on Nov 8, 2023, in the prefects’ room of a national secondary school in Serian.
The accused also faces two additional charges under Section 14(a) of SOACA 2017 for allegedly touching the victim’s genitals for sexual purposes in two separate incidents, also at the same location, in September and on Nov 8, 2023.
If convicted under Section 14 of SOACA 2017, the accused faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment and may also be subject to whipping. Section 16 further provides for a jail term of up to five years and a minimum of two strokes of the cane.
Following the accused’s plea, Judges Iris and Zuraidah scheduled Sept 29, 2025, for case management.
Iris granted court bail of RM40,000 with two local sureties for each of the three charges before her, while Zuraidah set bail at RM20,000 with two local sureties for each of the remaining two charges, bringing the total bail amount to RM160,000.
The court also ordered the accused to report to the nearest police station on the first Monday of every month until the conclusion of the case and to surrender his passport, which will be retained by the court.
He was further warned against interfering with prosecution witnesses, with any breach potentially resulting in bail revocation.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Aiman Mutallib Mohamad Shariff prosecuted the case, while the accused was represented by a legal counsel. — DayakDaily
