Special education assistant pleads not guilty to sexual assault

TRANSLATED BY MA CHEE SENG

KOTA SAMARAHAN: A special education management assistant from Kampung Kesindu pleaded not guilty to six charges of sexual assault against six students aged 11 to 14.

The accused, aged 43, made his plea after the charges were read in front of Judge Shafiza Datu Abdul Razak Tready at the Sessions Court here on Friday (Dec 1). 

According to the charges, the accused, who worked at a special education school in Serian, is alleged to have sexually assaulted four female Persons with Disablities (OKU) children aged 11 to 14 and two male OKU students aged 12 and 13 between March and November this year.

The charges specify that the sexual assaults involved touching the genitals, as well as groping breasts and backs. The prosecution for all charges falls under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, punishable under the same Act, read together with Section 16 of the same Act.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Aiman Mutallib Mohamad Shariff did not offer bail for the accused, stating it was not a bailable offence while also to prevent him from fleeing. However, the court allowed the accused to be released on bail of RM8,000 and two local sureties for each charge. The court set a new case management date for Jan 8, 2024.

The accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, appeared in court with family members.

In the same court, the remand request for a coordinator supervisor teacher, involved in a separate sexual assault investigation with three male OKU students aged 14 to 15 at the same school, was rejected. 

The 48-year-old suspect, represented by lawyer Shankar Ram, was released on police bail. The teacher had been in remand from Nov 22 until Dec 1.