LABUAN: A religious teacher has been acquitted by the Sessions Court here of a charge of physically committing sexual assault against a male tahfiz school student.
Sessions Court Judge Dr Melissa Chia Pui Fu discharged and acquitted Muhammad Abdullah Jabeer Ali, 26, without calling for his defence after ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case.
Muhammad Abdullah had been accused of committing the offence against a 13-year-old boy at about 10.30pm on 15 Sept 2022 in the toilet of a religious school here.
The charge was framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment and whipping upon conviction. An additional penalty under Section 16(1) of the same Act provides for up to five years’ imprisonment and at least two strokes of the cane.
The accused was represented by lawyer Datuk Ram Singh.
According to Ram, four witnesses testified during the proceedings, and the court also ordered Muhammad Abdullah’s bail money to be returned.
