A religious teacher was sentenced to seven years in prison and two cane strokes for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old student at a school surau
SEREMBAN: A religious teacher received a seven-year prison sentence and two strokes of the cane for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old female student.
Sessions Court Judge Datin Surita Budin convicted Farid Azhar Nawi, 47, for the assault that occurred at a secondary school surau in Senawang three years ago.
The court also ordered him to undergo counselling during imprisonment and face one year of police supervision after his release.
Judge Surita granted a stay of execution pending appeal, considering the accused is a civil servant.
She set bail at RM20,000 and required Farid to surrender his passport to the court.
“The defence failed to raise reasonable doubt,” she stated in her judgment.
“The accused’s claim of collusion by the school was purely hypothetical and unproven.”
She emphasised the court takes child sexual abuse cases seriously, particularly when committed by trusted educators.
“The accused should have protected and guided students, not taken advantage of the victim,” she added.
Farid faced two charges under Section 14(a) and Section 16(c) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
The offences allegedly occurred around 5:30 pm on August 4, 2022.
For the first offence, he received seven years imprisonment.
For the second offence, he was sentenced to two years imprisonment plus two cane strokes.
The court ordered both prison terms to run concurrently.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Norazihah Asmuni handled the prosecution.
Lawyer Nor Azleen Khairina A. Aziz represented the accused. – Bernama
