PUTRAJAYA: The 13-year prison sentence imposed on a former religious teacher of a tahfiz and orphanage for physically sexually assaulting a male student has been reinstated.
A three-judge Court of Appeal panel led by Justice Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim also restored the whipping sentence of three strokes of the cane imposed by the Sessions Court.
Mohd Faiza Rizza Mohd Ropi, 38, who now works as a petrol station pump attendant, was acquitted and discharged of the charge by the High Court after successfully appealing his conviction, which led to an appeal by the prosecution.
The panel also ordered that the time spent in prison by Mohd Faiza – following his unsuccessful attempt to obtain a stay of execution of his sentence pending disposal of his appeal in the High Court – should be included in his total sentence.
Judges Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Azmi Ariffin also restored the Sessions Court's order for Mohd Faiza to undergo counselling during imprisonment and be placed under police supervision for two years after his eventual release.
Justice Azmi, in delivering a unanimous decision, said the prosecution had successfully proven all the elements of the charge under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act.
He said the court disagreed with the Judicial Commissioner's earlier findings that the charge against Mohd Faiza should have been brought under Section 14(d) of the Act.
He also said the court found no contradiction in the victim's testimony and his police report.
Justice Azmi said a police report by Mohd Faiza, which was filed two years after he was charged in court, claiming he was falsely accused by the victim.
Mohd Faiza was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison and three strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court on Nov 26, 2021, for physical sexual assault on the student, who was 17 years old, in the warden's room of a tahfiz and orphanage hostel in Temerloh, Pahang, at 2am on June 2019.
On May 11, 2023, the High Court overturned the Sessions Court's ruling and acquitted and discharged Mohd Faiza. The prosecution subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal.
Deputy Public Prosecutor P. Sarulatha appeared for the prosecution while lawyers Shashi Devan and Muhammad Nazreen Jaafar Abdullah represented Mohd Faiza. – Bernama
