Teacher acquitted of rape

Found innocent: Mohd Faddil hugging his mother outside the Seremban Sessions Court after his acquittal.

SEREMBAN: A Mathematics teacher was acquitted by the Sessions Court here of ­raping a 12-year-old girl after a doctor testified that he was impotent at the time of the alleged crime.

In acquitting Mohd Faddil Abdul Rahman, 39, judge Anita Harun said the decision was based on the testimony by an andro­logist that the accused was suffering from the medical condition.

“The witness has testified that Mohd Faddil was facing potency problems at the time of the alleged rape. So, the court is left with no other option but to accept that view,” she said.

Mohd Faddil, who is married with a daughter, was accused of raping the Year Six pupil at his house in Seremban 3 near here on Sept 14 and 15.

He was charged under Section 376 of the Penal Code, which provides a jail term of between five and 30 years and whipping.

Immediately after the verdict was delivered, Mohd Faddil, who was dressed in a suit, stepped out of the dock, bowed before the court and offered a quick prayer.

“This case has been an eye opener for me because only now I know who my true friends are,” he said, adding that many of them had abandoned him.

“I am happy that I can put this episode behind me.”

He said he hoped that he could continue working at the district education office where he had been transferred to after being charged.

Also present in court yesterday was his mother, Sabariah Abd Hamid, 67.

In his written submissions, Mohd Faddil’s counsel, John Fernandez, argued that he had told the police upon his arrest that he was suffering from potency problems but they did not investigate this matter.

“The prosecution has also remained silent on the testimony of the andrologist, Dr Mohd Ismail Mohd Tambi,” he said, adding that the deputy public prosecutor did not rebut the evidence from the doctor.

Fernandez said there were also many discrepancies in the girl’s report, including claims that Mohd Faddil had fondled her ­several times in the school laboratory in August last year when it was actual­ly the school holidays.