JOHOR BARU: A man who is on trial for kidnapping a six-year-old girl has been charged with molesting another child here.
The accused, Leang Win Son, 32, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read in Mandarin before judge Madihah Zainol at the Sessions Court here.
According to the charge sheet, Leang allegedly molested a nine-year-old girl by the toilet of a kopitiam in Kulai.
He was accused of committing the offence at about 7.30pm on Sept 14.
He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for up to 20 years in jail and whipping.
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Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Farah Wahida Shahudin said the suspect had pleaded guilty to five charges under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 two months ago for possessing child sexual exploitation material.
She also told the court that the suspect is still on trial for other charges, including under Section 363 of the Penal Code for kidnapping, and Section 346 of the same Act for wrongful confinement.
"The accused is on trial for similar offences and has pleaded guilty to an offence involving the same group, which is children.
"As such, the prosecution objected to bail for the accused as there may be a risk of him committing a similar offence if he is released to the public," she said.
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Meanwhile, his lawyer, Nor Zafira Norizan, said bail should be granted on a case-by-case basis and not based on previous offences.
"While the suspect has pleaded guilty to five of the charges, he is still on trial for other charges.
"As such, he is innocent of those charges until proven guilty," she said, adding that the accused is also not a flight risk.
Madihah later ruled that the accused not be granted bail.
"The court has decided not to grant bail to the accused as he is on trial for other cases involving children as well," she said, adding that public interest must be protected.
She then set Oct 6 for the accused to be referred to a mental institution and for the next mention.
In August last year, the Leang was slapped with 15 charges, including kidnapping, wrongful confinement, non-physical sexual assault of a child, and collecting and possessing sexual abuse material related to the six-year-old victim.
The girl was reported missing by her father on July 20 last year at a shopping mall in Iskandar Puteri before she was found safe at a budget hotel in Batang Kali, Selangor, on July 23, 2024.
