A temple worker was charged in the Alor Gajah sessions court in Melaka today with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy.
Sinar Harian reported that P Deva, 32, pleaded not guilty after the charge against him was read in Tamil before judge Aiza Khairuddin.
He is accused of sexually assaulting the boy in the bedroom of a home in Taman Melaka Perdana between 3pm and 4pm on July 4.
The charge is under Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and whipping if found guilty.
Deputy public prosecutor Ali Hussain proposed bail of RM30,000, along with the conditions that Deva report to a nearby police station at the beginning of every month, surrender his passport to the court and stay away from the prosecution witnesses until the disposal of the case.
Lawyer P Aravindhakshan, representing Deva, pleaded for a lower bail amount, saying his client’s only income is from teaching children at the temple.
The court set bail at RM15,000, agreed to the additional conditions requested by the prosecution, and set Sept 8 for the handover of documents.
