Court discharges, acquits teacher of sexually assaulting male student

The accused (third left) and his brother (fourth left) is pictured outside the courtroom with Shankar (left) and Lim (second left).

KUCHING (Aug 30): The Sessions Court here yesterday discharged and acquitted a teacher on four counts of committing physical sexual assault and one count of gross indecency against a 12-year-old male student in 2019.

Judge Dayang Ellyn Narisa Abang Ahmad freed the 47-year-old accused without calling for his defence, after ruling the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.

It was understood the court found that the victim in the case, who was the third prosecution witness, had contradicted himself when giving his statements.

On the first to third charge, the accused allegedly sexually assaulted the student between April and July 2019 at the male toilet and store room of a school in Petra Jaya.

The charges were framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, punishable under Section 14 of the same Act, which provides for up to 20 years in prison and caning upon conviction.

On the fourth charge, the accused was alleged to have sexually assaulted the student in the school’s male toilet in August 2019.

The charge was framed under Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, punishable under Section 14 of the same Act, which provides for up to 20 years’ jail and caning upon conviction.

On the fifth charge, the accused was alleged to have committed gross indecency against the student at the school’s toilet between April and July 2019.

The charge was framed under Section 377E of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term of up to 15 years and caning upon conviction.

It was learned the student had related the alleged incidents to his grandmother, who then informed the boy’s father, prompting the father to lodge a police report.

A total of six prosecution witnesses comprising the student, a police photographer, the student’s father, a female teacher, the school’s headmaster and a police officer, were called to testify during the trial which started in 2020.

Deputy public prosecutor Danial Mohamad Ali prosecuted the case, while the accused was represented by counsels Shankar Ram Asnani, Russell Lim and Yu Ying Ying.

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