PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has sentenced a headmaster to 20 years' jail and 11 strokes of the cane for filming pornography and committing physical sexual assault against a standard six student.
A three-judge panel, chaired by Justice Datuk Noorin Badaruddin alongside Justices Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, on Wednesday (Oct 28) dismissed Anuar Kintan's appeal against his conviction and sentence of nine years and eight strokes of the cane imposed by the High Court for the charge of making pornography.
The panel, however, allowed the prosecution's appeal to overturn the lower court's decisions to acquit and discharge Anuar on the second charge of physical sexual assault against the victim, who was 12 years old at the time.
The court subsequently convicted him of the charge, sentencing him to 11 years with three strokes of the cane.
Justice Noorin, who delivered the unanimous decision, ordered the sentences to be served consecutively. She also issued a warrant of committal for Anuar, 59, to begin his sentence on Wednesday. He had previously obtained a stay of execution of the sentence and was released on bail of RM14,000 with one surety pending disposal of his appeal.
The court, meanwhile, upheld the lower court's decision to acquit and discharge Anuar on the third and fourth charges, which involved physical sexual assault on the girl and uttering words intended to be heard by the victim for sexual purposes.
Justice Noorin said the victim had given direct testimony identifying the accused as the person who took the photographs and that her testimony had been considered by the Sessions Court judge who accepted it.
She said the existence of the photographs was not an isolated circumstance, but was supported by forensic examination that identified the images in Anuar's mobile phone.
On the second charge, Justice Noorin said the court disagreed that the alibi presented by Anuar had raised reasonable doubt.
The defence had put forward an alibi in which Anuar's wife testified that he was at home with her and not at the school when the incident occurred.
Justice Noorin said the testimony of the victim's friend provided material support for the prosecution's case regarding the accused's presence at the school on April 3, 2021, and his movements with the victim. Therefore, the alibi evidence presented by the accused did not raise reasonable doubt.
On April 19, 2024, the Sessions Court found Anuar guilty of the first offence for making pornography by taking photos of the victim and sentenced him to three years in jail and two strokes of the cane.
The Sessions Court also sentenced him to an additional one year's imprisonment and two strokes of the cane under Section 16(1) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017. The section provides for punishment if an offender commits a sexual crime while holding a position of trust over a child. The sentences were to run consecutively.
The Sessions Court, however, acquitted him of the second, third and fourth charges.
The High Court on Aug 15, 2025, increased the prison sentence for the first charge to nine years' imprisonment and eight strokes of the cane and upheld his acquittal for the other three charges.
The offences were committed at a school in Perak in the middle of March 2021 and on April 3, 2021. – Bernama
