PETALING JAYA: A private religious studies centre chairman pleaded not guilty at the Port Dickson magistrate’s court, today, after being charged with molesting a practical teacher, last month.
The accused who is also a ustaz (religious teacher) Mohd Hafidz Eshak, 44, pleaded not guilty as soon as the charges were read before Magistrate Uthman Abd Ghani.
According to several media reports, Hafidz was charged with using criminal force to outrage the modesty of the 19-year-old teacher at the same religious centre at about 6.40pm on August 18.
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He faces a jail term of up to 10 years or a fine or whipping or any of the two if found guilty.
Deputy public prosecutor Azriff Firdaus Ali requested the court to fix bail at RM50,000, while his lawyer, Hanif Hassan requested the bail to be lowered to RM3,000.
Hanif also denied that the accused had any links with the controversial Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH).
Uthman then set bail at RM4,000 and fixed October 17 for case management.
