KOTA KINABALU: A former Tahfiz teacher in Labuan who was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old male student in 2022 has been freed of his charge.
The 26-year-old ustaz, who claimed trial under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 after he was charged earlier this year at Labuan Sessions Court, was found not guilty on Wednesday (May 20).
Before making her ruling, Judge Dr Melissa Chia Pui Fung explained that she was unconvinced by the oral testimony given by the complainant, who was also the alleged victim and prosecution witness in this case.
“I am not satisfied that the prosecution has established a prima facie case on question two (on the alleged sexual act of touching) and question three (the act was done with sexual purposes).
“Accordingly, I discharge and acquit the accused and all the deposit bail sum to be refunded to the accused,” she said.
Throughout the trial, the defence team comprising Datuk Ram Singh, Prem Elmer Ganasan and Prabjit Singh Gill maintained that the accused is innocent and raised several issues during the proceedings, including alleged inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence, uncertainty regarding the date and location of the alleged incident.
They also raised the issue of the alleged failure by the investigating officer to properly investigate the accused’s second alibi, and that the prosecution did not submit or explain the issue of alibi as directed by the court.
Earlier, the court heard that the accused had touched and sucked on the boy’s genitals in a room in the school at around 10.30pm on Sept 15, 2022.
