SEREMBAN: A Pakistani national was sentenced to five years in jail by the Sessions Court here after pleading guilty to kissing an 11-year-old girl with an intellectual disability on the lips.
Uzman Khan, 22, did not contest the charge after it was read to him before Judge Surita Budin.
The labourer was charged with committing the offence at a bus stop in Taman Tuanku Ja’afar around 6.30pm on Aug 24.
He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping.
His fellow countryman, Abrar Tasib, 33, was also charged before Surita with possessing pornographic images of the same victim on his mobile phone.
He was sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to the charge under Section 10 of the same Act.
The offence carries a jail term of up to five years, a fine not exceeding RM10,000, or both.
Deputy public prosecutor Norazihah Asmuni urged the court to impose punishments that commensurate with the gravity of the offences.
She said both accused, who had been working in Malaysia for two years, committed a serious offence against a vulnerable child.
In mitigation, Uzman pleaded for leniency, saying he had to work to pay for his father’s tuberculosis treatment and support his three school-going younger siblings.
“I come from a very poor family, if I don’t send money home, my family will have no food to eat,” he said.
Abrar, meanwhile, claimed the victim had sent him the photographs and told him she was 28 years old.
“Apart from the photos, I did not do anything wrong,” he said, adding that he needed to provide for his wife, two children and younger siblings back home.
Facts of the case revealed that both accused had befriended the girl through TikTok.
Police arrested them after a photograph of Uzman kissing the victim at the bus stop went viral.
