A teacher was charged at the Kota Bharu sessions court today with four counts of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old male student last year.
Syahril Faiza Zakaria, 51, pleaded not guilty to the charges after they were read before judge Zulkifli Abdullah, Berita Harian reported.
According to the first and second charges, he sexually assaulted the boy, aged 11 years and six months, in a car en route to KB Mall at around 2pm in March last year.
In the third and fourth charges, he was accused of sexually assaulting the victim in a toilet at a resort in Pantai Cahaya Bulan in May last year.
The charges were framed under Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, punishable under the same section read together with Section 16. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a whipping.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Faiz Fitri led the prosecution while Syahril was represented by lawyer Saifullah Che Mat.
The prosecution did not offer bail, citing the gravity of the case and the trust between the victim and the accused.
Saifullah however appealed for bail, saying the teacher now works at the district education office, is single, lives with his parents, and has a heart condition.
The judge granted bail of RM30,000, barred Syahril from contacting witnesses, and set Sept 10 for case mention.
