PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal upheld the six-year prison sentence imposed on a former bowling coach convicted of sexually assaulting a former Malaysia Games athlete eight years ago.
A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid dismissed Mat Salleh Jalani’s appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Azman, in delivering the court’s unanimous decision, said the victim had no reason to fabricate evidence regarding the appellant’s actions, Bernama reported.
He said the six-year imprisonment and two-year police supervision imposed by the Sessions Court were upheld to serve as a form of awareness to both the appellant and the public against taking advantage of children.
On May 16, 2024, the Sessions Court in Kuala Terengganu, sentenced Mat Salleh, 62, to six years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Marang, Terengganu in March 2018.
The Sessions Court also ordered Mat Salleh to undergo police supervision for two years after completing his prison sentence.
