MELAKA: A 23-year-old man has been remanded for five days on suspicion of molesting a boy inside a mosque at Pulau Melaka here.
The remand order against the 23-year-old suspect was issued by the Magistrate's Court here on Saturday (Nov 1) to assist investigations under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
According to a source, the incident occurred at around 1.30pm on Friday (Oct 31) when the 10-year-old victim, accompanied by his mother and sister, attended the prayers at the mosque.
The suspect, who holds a person with disabilities (OKU) card, allegedly offered the boy a free bottle of perfume in a bid to coax the victim to follow him.
The source stated that the suspect sold perfumes in the area around the mosque.
The suspect was then believed to have touched the boy inappropriately when he was upstairs in the mosque.
At this point, the victim reportedly pushed the suspect away and shouted for help, prompting several congregants nearby to intervene and detain the suspect.
The victim was later taken to Hospital Melaka for medical examination, while the suspect was handed over to the police by the congregants.
Urine test result on the suspect was negative for drugs, and the suspect has no previous criminal record.
