SEREMBAN: A 38-year-old religious school teacher was sentenced to six years in jail by the Sessions Court here after he pleaded guilty to 12 charges of committing physical sexual assault and carnal intercourse against the order of nature against pupils under his care.
Mohd Khairi Fitri Baharom, who was also a warden at the school in Jempol, was also ordered to be caned four times by Judge Surita Budin.
The accused was charged with committing the offences against the seven young victims between March 2024 and January this year.
His victims were then between eight and 13 years of age.
The offences were committed at a house in Juasseh in Kuala Pilah, the student’s hostel and the warden’s room.
The accused was slapped with six charges under Section 377C of the Penal Code for committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature which carries a jail term of between five and 20 years and whipping.
Six other charges were under Sections 14(a) and (b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping.
Judge Surita sentenced the accused to a total of 36 years in jail for six charges and ruled the others as offences taken into consideration (TIC).
However, the accused will only serve six years as these are to run concurrently.
TIC is where the accused agrees to plead guilty to some charges in exchange for the prosecution dropping other charges or agreeing to TIC.
Judge Surita also ordered the accused to undergo counselling after completing his jail term. He would also remain under police surveillance for one year.
Earlier, lawyer Ahmad Loqman Hakim Ahmad Khairie, who represented the accused, pleaded for a minimum punishment as he had saved the court’s time and cost by pleading guilty.
He said the accused, who was the second of four siblings, was a bachelor and had to look after his old mother.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Balkis Zunaidi pressed for a stern punishment as the accused had committed a heinous crime against young children.
“He may have pleaded guilty but public interest takes priority over his.
“Although he was their teacher, he took the advantage to commit these despicable crimes against them to fulfil his sexual desires,” she said.
Nurul Balkis, who was assisted by Norazihah Asmuni, said the court had to mete out a stern punishment as a deterrent to others.
