SEREMBAN: The cases of four Kuala Pilah madrasah teaching assistants charged with sexually assaulting nine underaged boys have been fixed for mention on Nov 18 by the Sessions Court here.
Judge Surita Budin made the decision after deputy public prosecutor Nurul Balkis Zunaidi told the court that the prosecution had yet to receive the complete set of the medical reports.
Nurul Balkis said the other relevant reports were ready and would be handed over to the defence team led by Datuk Hanif Hassan.
The four accused – Muhammad Habib Noh Mohd Zairi, 21, Muhammad Khunais Fathie Khabil, 20, Ahmad Nadzful Izham Azizan, 22, Muhammad Fawzun Azim Ismail, 20 – are collectively facing 20 charges of sexually assaulting the boys aged between nine and 13 years at the centre.
On Sept 19, Muhammad Habib Noh, Muhammad Khunais and Ahmad Nadzful Izham Azizan pleaded not guilty when charged before Surita.
Muhammad Fawzun also claimed trial when charged the following day.
Muhammad Habib Noh and Muhammad Fawzun are facing four charges each under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 while Muhammad Khunais is facing six and Ahmad Nadzful, three.
Muhammad Habib was also charged with one count under Section 14(b) of the same legislation while Muhammad Fawzun faced two.
Both provisions carry a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
They allegedly committed the offences at the madrasah between 2022 and 2023.
Ahmad Nadzful and Muhammad Fawzun are out on bail while the other two accused were sent to the Puncak Alam Correctional Centre as they were unable to raise the bail amount.
The accused have also been told not to contact the victims or witnesses, report to the nearest police station once a month, surrender their passports, if they had one, to the court, and be easily reachable.
Nurul Balkis was assisted by Noraziha Asmuni.
The four were among those arrested following raids conducted by Bukit Aman's Criminal Investigation Department at 20 charity homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan linked to GISB Holdings in September.
A total of 402 children and teenagers, including 201 boys and 201 girls aged from one to 17, were rescued during the operation then.
