SEREMBAN: A 37-year-old male teacher has claimed trial at the Sessions Court here for two charges of committing physical sexual assault against an 11-year-old pupil.
Abdul Halim Ismail pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to him before Judge Hazeelia Muhammad.
For the first charge, he allegedly committed the offence against the boy at a hotel room in Port Dickson at around 10pm on July 28, 2023.
He was charged with committing the second offence at the same place and time the following day.
For both offences, he was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, read with Section 16(1) of the same legislation.
Offenders can be jailed for up to 20 years and whipped upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Norazihah Asmuni told the court the prosecution was not offering bail to the accused.
However, if the court allowed it, she requested a high amount.
Norazihah said the accused was also facing similar charges in Raub, Melaka, and Ipoh.
She asked the court to order the accused to report monthly at the nearest police station until the case is resolved, to stay away from the victim and prosecution witnesses, and to surrender his passport, if he had one, to the court.
The accused's lawyer, Aliff Aiman Rusli, said his client, a government servant, had no income as he had been suspended since 2023.
He added that the accused could not afford a high bail amount as he faced similar charges elsewhere.
"The accused, who also cares for his 78-year-old father, has been attending his other cases in court without fail since 2023.
"We have been informed that the alleged victim is no longer interested in pursuing the case, so we propose a bail of RM5,000 for both charges," he said, adding that his client was not a flight risk and had not violated any other laws.
DPP Norazihah said the prosecution had not received any information that the victim was no longer keen to pursue the case.
Judge Hazeelia set bail at RM10,000 with one surety, allowed the other applications by the prosecution and fixed June 9 for re-mention.
