KUCHING: The High Court here struck out the prosecution’s appeal against a Sessions Court’s decision to discharge and acquit a primary school teacher of committing sexual assault and gross indecency against a 12-year-old male student in 2019.
Judge Datuk Zaleha Rose Pandin made the order after Deputy Public Prosecutor Aida Nurdiana Che Kamarulzaman informed that the prosecution was withdrawing the appeal.
Sessions Court Judge Ellyn Narisa Abang Ahmad had previously acquitted the 47-year-old teacher without having to defend himself after the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against him.
At the end of the prosecution case, the court found that the third witness of the case, namely the victim, had caused confusion in regards to the location of the alleged crime and gave a conflicting testimony.
The teacher was charged with five charges under different sections of the Penal Code.
Three of the charges accused him of sexually assaulting the boy, who was 12-years-old at the time, by touching his body, kissing his lips, kissing his forehead, hugging him and sucking the victim’s private part.
All of the offences were allegedly committed by the teacher at a male toilet and storeroom of a primary school in Petra Jaya between April 2019 and July 2019.
The teacher had on these charges stood trial under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and punishable under Section 14 of the same Act, which carries up to 20 years’ jail and also whipping, if found guilty.
Meanwhile, for the fourth charge, he was accused of sexually assaulting the same victim, by asking the victim to suck his private part at a male toilet of the same school around August 2019.
He was charged under Section 14(b) of Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and punishable under Section 14 of the same Act, which carries up to 20 years’ jail and also whipping, if convicted.
On the fifth count, he had stood charged with inciting the victim to commit extreme obscenity, namely asking the victim to insert his private part into his (teacher) anus at a male toilet of the same school between April to July 2019.
He was charged under Section 377E of the Penal Code which carries a up to five years in jail and whipping, if convicted.
At the appeal hearing yesterday (May 15), the teacher was represented by counsel Shankar Ram, Russell Lim and Yu Ying Ying.
