JOHOR BARU: A 67-year-old school van attendant has pleaded not guilty in a Sessions Court here to two counts of sexually abusing an eight-year-old girl some three years ago.
Goh Heng Hong claimed trial after the charges were read out in Mandarin by a court interpreter before Sessions Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail yesterday.
According to the first charge, Goh, who is a bachelor, had allegedly tried to create child pornography inside a school van between March and July 2019.
Under Section 7 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, it is an offence to use a child in a pornographic film, with a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and at least five strokes of the rotan upon conviction.
Goh is also charged with sexually assaulting the girl by touching her thigh with sexual intent inside the vehicle between May and June, 2019.
The offence under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
Goh, who was unrepresented, pleaded for lower bail as he could only afford around RM1,000.
However, Ahmad Kamal set bail at RM10,000 for both charges with one surety and ordered him to hand over his passport as well as to report to the nearest police station every month and not harass the girl or her family.
As at press time, Goh has yet to post bail and remains in lock-up.
In an unrelated case, a technician was charged in the same court for deceiving a company owner of RM800 last year.
Hong Yen How, 46, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out to him in Mandarin by the court interpreter.
According to the charge sheet, Hong had allegedly cheated the owner by claiming that his nine workers had been blacklisted by a large-scale solar panel company based in Pahang and were not allowed to enter the site.
He was accused of then persuading the owner to pay RM800 as inducement to help clear the names of the workers.
Hong was said to be aware that such a blacklist did not exist.
The offence was committed at a bank in Kelapa Sawit, Kulai, at 2.38pm on May 25, 2021.
The offence under Section 417 of the Penal Code carries imprisonment of up to five years, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Ahmad Kamal set bail at RM5,000 with one surety and fixed mention for Jan 11, 2023.
The accused posted bail.
